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Breast Feeding

As more women enter the workforce, the question of whether or not to breast feed becomes a decision of great importance. This paper will examine studies dealing with the effect of breast feeding on infant nutrition and development, as compared to the effect of bottle feeding. Breast feeding has gone in and out of style throughout the years, but as research continues, its use has been proven to be overall physically and cognitively beneficial, and its positive effect on health cannot be ignored.

Breast feeding begins in a hospital setting. Up until 75 years ago all infants had to be breast fed. Rosenblith (1992) points out that breast feeding "requires frequent interactions; a baby nursed on demand will nurse every two to three hours. . . among upper classes in Western cultures, women called 'wet nurses' often had been hired to nurse babies and thus relieve the mother of the chore of nursing (p. 167).

Epidemiological studies have shown that breast feeding provides significant advantages with regard to general health, growth, and development. In addition, breast feeding also decreases the risk for many diseases.

"Research in the United States, Canada, Europe, and other developed countries, among predominantly middle-class populations, provides strong evidence that human milk feeding decreases the incidence and/or severity of diarrhea, lower respiratory infection, otitis media, bactermia, bacterial meningitis, botulism, urinary tract infection, and necrotizing enterocolitis." (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1997, p. 1035).

Breast feeding also has the probable protective effect of deterring sudden infant death syndrome, insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, Crohn's disease, ulcerative colitis, lymphoma, allergic diseases, as well as other chronic digestive diseases (American Academy of Pediatrics, 1997, p. 1035). Klaus and Kennell(1976) found that a mother's milk provides better immunity and eliminates dangers of for...

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Breast Feeding. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 11:55, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1683241.html