Breast Feeding Persuasive Essay
Breast-feeding is the best source of nutrition for a newborn baby. Breastfed babies are less likely to develop asthma, colds, respiratory infections, pneumonia, ear infections and allergies. The advantages of breast-feeding a baby, hands down, outweigh the disadvantages. Not only will your child be healthier but he/she will be closer to you. Breastfed babies get the skin to skin contact that they crave to soothe them in the first few weeks outside of the womb. It will also provide psychological and emotional advantages to you. You will have a sense of pride and accomplishment in yourself, which will make you feel more confident about your skills as a new mother. You will feel more attached and protective over your baby. It will trigger motherly
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instincts that you never knew you could have. Breast-feeding is also cheap, which is a huge plus in our economic situation today. The only thing you need to do is make sure that you take in some extra calories and liquids to produce milk for your child. The extra money you spend on the extra food you will eat doesn't even come to half the cost of what you would spend in formula each week. Breast milk is ready whenever you need it and where ever you go. All you need is a place to sit comfortably and a blanket and you are ready to start. With the time you would spend mixing the formula, cleaning the bottles, and going to the store to buy formula it comes out to be about the same time it takes to just sit and breast-feed your child. There are some disadvantages to breast-feeding but they are easy to overcome. One of the major disadvantages is that the father of the child and other family members may feel left out or not needed. To overcome these feelings you need to make sure that the father is involved in the feeding process. Granted the father can't exactly breast-feed the child, he can burp the baby and hold the baby if you need to adjust yourself or switch sides that the baby is feeding from. Let him sit closely next to you so he can feel that closeness that you have with the child while you are nursing. Another disadvantage is that there is a huge demand on your time when you breast-feed . You must be available for your baby whenever he/she is hungry and that can be at anytime of the day or night. One way to help yourself not feel so overwhelmed is to ask for help. Don't be afraid or ashamed to ask for help around the house. If you need to get laundry, cleaning or grocery shopping done then ask a friend or family member to help with those tasks. Most of the time there is someone who is more than willing to help out. Don't try to do everything by yourself because in the end you will just be too exhausted to go on. Don't go rushing to clean the house the second your baby takes a nap. You should take this time to enjoy yourself a little bit. Read a book or take a nap because you deserve a little bit of relaxation too. Some women complain about cracked or sore nipples when they breast-feed . This is normal. I made sure I kept Lanolin with me for this very reason. It will help soothe the dry area and prevent future cracking. Another way you can prevent cracking is to express a little breast milk and let it dry on you and this will provide a protective coating. When showering you should wash your breasts with just water, try not to lather them up with soap because soap can dry out your skin and make the cracking worse. Try not to apply lotion either because that can actually clog your pores and cause an infection, plus your baby is used to your scent and might not take too well to a new scent on your body. Another complaint is a condition called Mastitis. Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue that causes symptoms that may make you feel like you have the flu. You may feel sick, tired, dizzy, have a headache, have a fever or the chills. It will also cause your breasts to feel sore, swell and cause redness. If you develop mastitis do not stop breast-feeding your baby. This will actually make the condition worse. Just remember that your breast milk is not what is infected so it will not hurt your baby. It will ease some of the pain for you as well because the release of breast milk will make your breasts feel softer and not so engorged. Your doctor can prescribe you an antibiotic that will not harm your baby to help the mastitis go away. Breastfed babies do eat more frequently because the breast milk is easier for them to digest. However, since the breast milk is easier to digest your baby will almost never have a problem with constipation. If you've ever been around a baby that is constipated then you know that it is terribly painful for the baby and for your ears as well. A baby that is constipated will have a high pitched cry that is almost like screaming and it feels horrible to see your baby in that condition. The first thing you need to do when you decide that you want to breast-feed is to keep a positive attitude. You need to remind yourself that women have been able to breast-feed their children since the beginning of mankind and before formula it was the only way of feeding a newborn baby, so you can do it too. After you are comfortable with the idea of breast-feeding then you need to start your research.
Go to your local bookstore or library and check out books like The Pregnancy Bible and What To Expect When You're Expecting and read about breast-feeding. Most books will have pictures for you to look at so you can see exactly what to do. Talk to your doctor about breast-feeding or request to speak to a lactation consultant at the hospital where you are expected to deliver your baby. You can even enroll in breast-feeding classes that are usually taught by women who have been able to successfully breast-feed their babies in the past. Most departments of health and human services have a women, infant and children's (WIC) office that has breast-feeding classes available to the public. Talk to people you know that have breastfed before because they can offer tons of support. One major issue that can really destroy your confidence is not being able to get your baby to latch onto the breast properly. Don't let this get your hopes down. It can take some time for some babies and mothers to learn how to properly breast-feed . When in doubt, ask a nurse or lactation consultant to help you. You will need to know what a proper latch on is. When your baby is latched to the breast correctly there should never be pain, only a little discomfort at
first. Your baby should have the nipple and a large amount of the areola in his/her mouth, not just the nipple. The best way to do this is to have your baby positioned so his/her face is squared with the breast and to stroke his/her cheek or bottom lip with your nipple and the baby will instinctively open his/her mouth widely. This is the rooting reflex that every baby is born with. When the baby opens his/her mouth you can pull the baby close to the breast and he/she should latch on. It may take a few tries but you will learn how to master it quickly with a little practice and patience. A sign of a good latch on is the sound of your baby swallowing or milk showing in the corner of his or her mouth. If you ever feel yourself getting frustrated then take a little break because a baby can tell when you are frustrated and may become upset and not want to nurse. Also, look for signs of hunger before crying. Crying is the last sign of hunger and your baby should never get this far before nursing. Your baby may try to root if you are holding him/her closely, bring his fists or even feet up to his/her mouth and seem alert, maybe even making jerking moves with his/her arms. If you wait for crying as a sign of hunger your baby may use up a lot of his or her energy that they need to be able to nurse completely or may be too upset to latch on properly. If you decide you are going to breast-feed then make sure your doctor knows so that way they will not give your baby a bottle or pacifier when he/she is born, which can cause confusion and a harder time learning to latch on. Try to breast-feed the baby as soon as he/she is born because this is the time when most babies are alert and ready to nurse. Doing this will probably make breast-feeding much easier. I was 20 when I found out I was pregnant and like any other young first time mother I was terrified that I wouldn't have a clue about how to be a good mother. I decided quickly that I wanted to breast-feed . I read books all the time to learn because I worked full time and was unable to attend any classes. The day my son was born I had the nurses give him to me as soon as he was cleaned off and I tried nursing him. He latched on right away with no problems. I stayed in the hospital with my son for 2 days after he was born and I was alone. I had no help from family while I was in the hospital so it was hard on me to go from 8 hours of labor to being a full time mom around the clock. My son stayed with me in my room and never spent more than 10 minutes in the hospital nursery. I believe this is why we were so successful at breast-feeding. I was able to breast-feed my son up until he was about 4 months old, at that point I had to go back to work full time and the facilities were not ideal for pumping. I was disappointed that I didn't get to breast-feed him longer but I know that I was able to give him the best start to life that I possibly could and that made me feel like the best mother in the world. Breast-feeding took me from feeling like a scared girl who was clueless to a confident mother who somehow always knew what was right for her child. My confidence in being a good mother came from being able to keep my child healthy. When my son started daycare he was the only child that made it through the winter without any colds or serious health conditions and I owe that to breast-feeding. I do admit that it was hard not having a lot of support from family, they wanted me to do well but were all too busy to really help out. I found myself tired most of the time and I had to learn to force myself to relax when the baby was sleeping. The great part about breast-feeding to me was that I was back to my pre pregnancy weight within about a week and a half and I lost even more while I was breast-feeding. My son is 2 years old now and is as healthy as can be and hes very bright too. I would recommend breast-feeding to every new mother, just remember that you CAN do it!
instincts that you never knew you could have. Breast-feeding is also cheap, which is a huge plus in our economic situation today. The only thing you need to do is make sure that you take in some extra calories and liquids to produce milk for your child. The extra money you spend on the extra food you will eat doesn't even come to half the cost of what you would spend in formula each week. Breast milk is ready whenever you need it and where ever you go. All you need is a place to sit comfortably and a blanket and you are ready to start. With the time you would spend mixing the formula, cleaning the bottles, and going to the store to buy formula it comes out to be about the same time it takes to just sit and breast-feed your child. There are some disadvantages to breast-feeding but they are easy to overcome. One of the major disadvantages is that the father of the child and other family members may feel left out or not needed. To overcome these feelings you need to make sure that the father is involved in the feeding process. Granted the father can't exactly breast-feed the child, he can burp the baby and hold the baby if you need to adjust yourself or switch sides that the baby is feeding from. Let him sit closely next to you so he can feel that closeness that you have with the child while you are nursing. Another disadvantage is that there is a huge demand on your time when you breast-feed . You must be available for your baby whenever he/she is hungry and that can be at anytime of the day or night. One way to help yourself not feel so overwhelmed is to ask for help. Don't be afraid or ashamed to ask for help around the house. If you need to get laundry, cleaning or grocery shopping done then ask a friend or family member to help with those tasks. Most of the time there is someone who is more than willing to help out. Don't try to do everything by yourself because in the end you will just be too exhausted to go on. Don't go rushing to clean the house the second your baby takes a nap. You should take this time to enjoy yourself a little bit. Read a book or take a nap because you deserve a little bit of relaxation too. Some women complain about cracked or sore nipples when they breast-feed . This is normal. I made sure I kept Lanolin with me for this very reason. It will help soothe the dry area and prevent future cracking. Another way you can prevent cracking is to express a little breast milk and let it dry on you and this will provide a protective coating. When showering you should wash your breasts with just water, try not to lather them up with soap because soap can dry out your skin and make the cracking worse. Try not to apply lotion either because that can actually clog your pores and cause an infection, plus your baby is used to your scent and might not take too well to a new scent on your body. Another complaint is a condition called Mastitis. Mastitis is an infection of the breast tissue that causes symptoms that may make you feel like you have the flu. You may feel sick, tired, dizzy, have a headache, have a fever or the chills. It will also cause your breasts to feel sore, swell and cause redness. If you develop mastitis do not stop breast-feeding your baby. This will actually make the condition worse. Just remember that your breast milk is not what is infected so it will not hurt your baby. It will ease some of the pain for you as well because the release of breast milk will make your breasts feel softer and not so engorged. Your doctor can prescribe you an antibiotic that will not harm your baby to help the mastitis go away. Breastfed babies do eat more frequently because the breast milk is easier for them to digest. However, since the breast milk is easier to digest your baby will almost never have a problem with constipation. If you've ever been around a baby that is constipated then you know that it is terribly painful for the baby and for your ears as well. A baby that is constipated will have a high pitched cry that is almost like screaming and it feels horrible to see your baby in that condition. The first thing you need to do when you decide that you want to breast-feed is to keep a positive attitude. You need to remind yourself that women have been able to breast-feed their children since the beginning of mankind and before formula it was the only way of feeding a newborn baby, so you can do it too. After you are comfortable with the idea of breast-feeding then you need to start your research.
Go to your local bookstore or library and check out books like The Pregnancy Bible and What To Expect When You're Expecting and read about breast-feeding. Most books will have pictures for you to look at so you can see exactly what to do. Talk to your doctor about breast-feeding or request to speak to a lactation consultant at the hospital where you are expected to deliver your baby. You can even enroll in breast-feeding classes that are usually taught by women who have been able to successfully breast-feed their babies in the past. Most departments of health and human services have a women, infant and children's (WIC) office that has breast-feeding classes available to the public. Talk to people you know that have breastfed before because they can offer tons of support. One major issue that can really destroy your confidence is not being able to get your baby to latch onto the breast properly. Don't let this get your hopes down. It can take some time for some babies and mothers to learn how to properly breast-feed . When in doubt, ask a nurse or lactation consultant to help you. You will need to know what a proper latch on is. When your baby is latched to the breast correctly there should never be pain, only a little discomfort at
first. Your baby should have the nipple and a large amount of the areola in his/her mouth, not just the nipple. The best way to do this is to have your baby positioned so his/her face is squared with the breast and to stroke his/her cheek or bottom lip with your nipple and the baby will instinctively open his/her mouth widely. This is the rooting reflex that every baby is born with. When the baby opens his/her mouth you can pull the baby close to the breast and he/she should latch on. It may take a few tries but you will learn how to master it quickly with a little practice and patience. A sign of a good latch on is the sound of your baby swallowing or milk showing in the corner of his or her mouth. If you ever feel yourself getting frustrated then take a little break because a baby can tell when you are frustrated and may become upset and not want to nurse. Also, look for signs of hunger before crying. Crying is the last sign of hunger and your baby should never get this far before nursing. Your baby may try to root if you are holding him/her closely, bring his fists or even feet up to his/her mouth and seem alert, maybe even making jerking moves with his/her arms. If you wait for crying as a sign of hunger your baby may use up a lot of his or her energy that they need to be able to nurse completely or may be too upset to latch on properly. If you decide you are going to breast-feed then make sure your doctor knows so that way they will not give your baby a bottle or pacifier when he/she is born, which can cause confusion and a harder time learning to latch on. Try to breast-feed the baby as soon as he/she is born because this is the time when most babies are alert and ready to nurse. Doing this will probably make breast-feeding much easier. I was 20 when I found out I was pregnant and like any other young first time mother I was terrified that I wouldn't have a clue about how to be a good mother. I decided quickly that I wanted to breast-feed . I read books all the time to learn because I worked full time and was unable to attend any classes. The day my son was born I had the nurses give him to me as soon as he was cleaned off and I tried nursing him. He latched on right away with no problems. I stayed in the hospital with my son for 2 days after he was born and I was alone. I had no help from family while I was in the hospital so it was hard on me to go from 8 hours of labor to being a full time mom around the clock. My son stayed with me in my room and never spent more than 10 minutes in the hospital nursery. I believe this is why we were so successful at breast-feeding. I was able to breast-feed my son up until he was about 4 months old, at that point I had to go back to work full time and the facilities were not ideal for pumping. I was disappointed that I didn't get to breast-feed him longer but I know that I was able to give him the best start to life that I possibly could and that made me feel like the best mother in the world. Breast-feeding took me from feeling like a scared girl who was clueless to a confident mother who somehow always knew what was right for her child. My confidence in being a good mother came from being able to keep my child healthy. When my son started daycare he was the only child that made it through the winter without any colds or serious health conditions and I owe that to breast-feeding. I do admit that it was hard not having a lot of support from family, they wanted me to do well but were all too busy to really help out. I found myself tired most of the time and I had to learn to force myself to relax when the baby was sleeping. The great part about breast-feeding to me was that I was back to my pre pregnancy weight within about a week and a half and I lost even more while I was breast-feeding. My son is 2 years old now and is as healthy as can be and hes very bright too. I would recommend breast-feeding to every new mother, just remember that you CAN do it!