Breastfeeding a public health topic

As a child I spent many summers in Puerto Rico with my paternal grandmother and among many aunts and uncles.  My father's side of the family is quite large and my grandmother was blessed with 12 children, with that said, you can just imagine the amount of cousins I had to play with.  However, what I remember most about my summers in Puerto Rico are the moments I spent with my aunts and how I would watch them care for their younger babies.  Breastfeeding was nothing out of the ordinary for me to see.  I don't ever recall a moment when I saw a bottle or sippie cup in their homes.  All of my aunts breastfed their children and so I never thought about bottle feeding until I was much older and witnessed it here in the states. 

Years later I understood the significance of breastfeeding and understood why my aunts chose this method.  For one, they lived in a very rural part of Puerto Rico where access to a local store to  buy formula was about a 45-60 minute drive.  Secondly,  coming from a farm town, money was not rolling in in abundance, so formula was something they really couldn't afford. Therefore, buying formula  was out of the question and purchasing bottles were obviously unnecessary.    I'm sure for them they realized and knew the importance of breast feeding, but from my perspective I saw it as a convenience.  I am thankful to them for exposing me to the bonding that occurs between parent and child while breastfeeding.  I chose breast feeding for my children because of the ease and advantages I saw it provided the women in my family. However, before I had my first child I began to research the advantages or disadvantages of bottle feeding vs.breast feeding and what the controversy about both was. 

I learned early on in my research that breastfeeding was most beneficial for newborn babies.  Babies who are exclusively breast-fed are less often sick (Berger,2012 p. 151).  The reason for this is because of all of the antibodies the mother passes on to their infant via breast-milk.  Of course , formula feeding can be advantageous for some babies such as those affected by serious illnesses but even in those cases breast milk may be more beneficial.  Breast milk contains literally thousands of different components that support the immune system in some way. Some of these components are very specific, defending against a particular pathogen (bacteria, virus, parasite), while others have a broader function, protecting the baby in many different ways. Often these various components act together, providing even more protection than each would alone (Ochert 2009). In the end I knew formual feeding was not the option for me.  Of course, there are times when it is necessary for some children and families.  However, the reality is that breast feeding has been occurring worldwide for years.  In some underdeveloped countries it is the only way that babies are fed.  The key is that, in the states and in other countries there are options about how you chose to feed your baby.  It is always up to the parents, their beliefs, and what they feel is in the best interest of the child.  Im glad to have an option in choosing what I feel is right for my children.

References

Berger, K. S. (2012). The developing person through childhood (6th ed.). New York, NY:  

 Worth Publishers

Ochert, Ayala (n.d.). The Science of Mother's Milk.  La Leche Leaugue International. Retreived Jan 18, 2013. from http://www.lalecheleaugue.org/html