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Benefits Of Breastfeeding For Mother, Child

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It’s a good idea to nurse your baby if you’re able. Breast milk provides optimal nutrition for babies. It has the right amount of nutrients and is easily digested.
If you have been considering not breastfeeding your new baby exclusively, you are probably inundated with information. It’s a personal decision only you can make, but the benefits can never be overemphasised.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months, and continuing even after solid foods are introduced, until at least age one year or until both mother and child stop.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends breastfeeding until two years old or longer because the benefits continue as long as that . These health agencies recommend breastfeeding as early as one hour after the birth of a baby for the biggest benefits.
If you just need reassurance that breast milk is the right choice for you, the benefits are enormous to both mother and child.
These recommendations may not be easy but important.
The science-based benefits of breastfeeding are amazing for you and for your baby.
Breast milk provides ideal nutrition for babies.
Most healthcare professionals recommend exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months or much longer.
Breast milk contains everything baby needs for the first six months of life, in all the right proportions. Its composition even changes according to the baby’s changing needs, especially during the first month of life.
During the first days after birth, the mother’s breasts produce a thick and yellowish fluid called colostrum. It’s high in protein, low in sugar, and loaded with beneficial compounds. It’s truly a wonder food and not replaceable by formula of baby food.
Colostrum is the ideal first milk and helps the newborn’s immature digestive tract develop. After the first few days, the breasts start producing larger amounts of milk as the baby’s stomach grows.
About the only thing that may be lacking from the mother’s magical milk supply is vitamin D.
Unless you have a very high intake, your breast milk won’t provide enough. Vitamin D drops are usually recommended.
Breast milk contains important antibodies.
Breast milk is loaded with antibodies that help the mother’s baby fight off viruses and bacteria, which is critical in the tender and early months.
This particularly applies to colostrum, the first milk. Colostrum provides high amounts of immunoglobulin A (IgA), as well as several other antibodies.
When you’re exposed to viruses or bacteria, you start producing antibodies that then go into the milk. It’s immunity, baby!
IgA protects the baby from getting sick by forming a protective layer in the baby’s nose, throat, and digestive system.
Formula does not provide antibody protection for babies. Medical reports show that babies who are not breastfed are more vulnerable to health issues like pneumonia, diarrhea and infection.
Breastfeeding may reduce disease risk.
It may reduce your baby’s risk for many illnesses and diseases, including: middle ear infections. Breastfeeding, particularly exclusively and as long as possible, may protect against middle ear, throat, and sinus infections.
Respiratory tract infections. Breastfeeding can protect against multiple respiratory and gastrointestinal acute illnesses.
Colds and infections. Babies exclusively breastfed for six months may have a lower risk of getting serious colds and ear or throat infections.
Gut infections. Breastfeeding is linked with a reduction in gut infections.
Intestinal tissue damage. Feeding preterm babies breast milk is linked with a reduction in the incidence of necrotising enterocolitis.
Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS). Breastfeeding is linked to a reduced risk of SIDS, especially when breastfeeding exclusively.
Allergic diseases. Breastfeeding is linked to a reduced risk of asthma, atopic dermatitis, and eczema.
Bowel diseases. Babies who are exclusively breastfed may be less likely to develop Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis.
Diabete Breastfeeding is linked to a reduced risk of developing type 1 diabetes and non-insulin-dependent (type 2) diabetes.
Childhood leukemia. Breastfeeding is linked to a reduction in the risk for childhood leukemia.
Breast milk promotes baby’s healthy weight.
Breastfeeding promotes healthy weight gain and helps prevent childhood obesity.
Reports reveal that breastfeeding for longer than four months has a significant reduction in the chances of a baby developing overweight and obesity.
This may be due to the development of different gut bacteria. Breastfed babies have higher amounts of beneficial gut bacteria, which may affect fat storage.
Babies fed with breast milk also have more leptin in their systems than formula-fed babies. Leptin is a key hormone for regulating appetite and fat storage.
Breastfed babies also self-regulate their milk intake. They’re better at eating only until they’ve satisfied their hunger, which helps them develop healthy eating patterns.
Breastfeeding may make children smarter.
Breastfeeding may help baby ace those tests. Some studies suggest there may be a difference in brain development between breastfed and formula-fed babies.
This difference may be due to the physical intimacy, touch, and eye contact associated with breastfeeding as well as nutrient content.
Reports indicate that breastfed babies have higher intelligence scores and are less likely to develop behavioral problems or have learning difficulties as they grow older.
However, the most pronounced effects are seen in preterm babies, who have a higher risk for developmental issues.
Medical research clearly shows that exclusive breastfeeding has significant positive effects on babies’ long-term brain development.
Breastfeeding benefits for mothers are so rich and rewarding.
Breastfeeding may help a mother lose weight.
This information has always been said at the antinatal class and other medical seminars. While some women seem to gain weight during breastfeeding, others want to lose weight.
Breastfeeding does burn more calories and after three months of lactation, a mother will likely experience an increase in fat burning compared to non-lactating mothers. Though the difference is not clear.
Breastfeeding helps the uterus contract.
During pregnancy, mothers uterus grows immensely, expanding from the size of a pear to filling almost the entire space of the abdomen.
After delivery, the uterus goes through a process called involution, which helps it return to its previous size. Oxytocin, a hormone that increases throughout pregnancy, helps drive the process.
The womans body secretes high amounts of oxytocin during labour to help deliver the baby and reduce bleeding. It can also help the mother to bond with the new born.
Oxytocin also increases during breastfeeding. It encourages uterine contractions and reduces bleeding, helping the uterus return to its previous size.
Studies have also shown that mothers who breastfeed generally have less blood loss after delivery and faster involution of the uterus.
Mothers who breastfeed have a lower risk for depression
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a type of depression that can develop shortly after childbirth.
Women who breastfeed are less likely to develop postpartum depression, compared to mothers who wean early or do not breastfeed, according to a medical study.
However, those who experience postpartum depression early after delivery are also more likely to have trouble breastfeeding and do so for a shorter duration.
If a woman has any symptoms of PPD, it is important for a mother to report to her doctor as soon as possible.
Breastfeeding reduces your disease risk.
Breastfeeding seems to provide you with long-term protection against cancer and several diseases.
The total time a woman spends breastfeeding is linked with a reduced risk for breast and ovarian cancer.
Women who breastfeed have a lower risk of high blood pressure, arthritis, high blood, fats, heart disease, Type 2 diabetes, etc.
Breastfeeding may prevent menstruation
Continued breastfeeding also pauses ovulation and menstruation. The suspension of menstrual cycles may actually be nature’s way of ensuring there is some time between pregnancies.
You may consider this change as an extra benefit. While a mother is enjoying precious time with her newborn, it’s just one less thing to worry about.
It saves time and money.
To top the list, breastfeeding is mostly free, barring expenses for any lactation consulting and breast pumps. By choosing to breastfeed, you won’t have to spend money on formula. If you calculate how much your baby needs to drink daily, spend time cleaning and sterilising bottles mix and warm up bottles in the middle of the night (or day), figure out ways to warm up bottles while on the go you may discover that breastfeeding is better and cheaper.
Breast milk is always at the right temperature and ready to drink.
Some mothers have always given one flimzy excuse or the other for not feeding babies exclusively, the truth is that exclusive breastfeeding is better than any formula a mother can think of.

Eunice Choko-Kayode With Agency Reports

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Women

Women Can Eradicate Child Abuse In Homes

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It is disheartening to note how in the 21st century, some women abuse the rights of both their children and wards. No day passes without getting information on how a child was beaten with an object or harmful substance used on a child for little errors that should not lead to provocation.
The role of women in
curbing child abuse can never be over-emphasised.  Mothers are the ones who nurture and groom their offsprings and wards whether, biological children or adopted.
It is necessary that any child who falls under the supervision of a mother, be responsible to that woman.
Shaping the life of a child depends so much on the mother, even if certain percentage of care is being expected from a father.  The mother starts nurturing a child from age zero till the adolescent stage.  She should always do a follow-up at every stage of development of every child in her care.
Within the period of growth, if there are negative tendencies exhibited by the child, the mother should be able to identify before the child goes to school. This is because the child starts learning from the home.
When you talk about child abuse, it starts from the home and the way every child is treated matters a lot.
The menace called child abuse is something that every hands must be on deck to ensure it is eradicated in the society. The major agent of eradication is the mother.
There are various forms of child abuse.  You may discover that for every form of the menace, the woman is involved and should be held responsible for its consequences.
Of course, it is clear that child abuse does not have any positive impact on the society except the perpetrators of the act.  Some persons derive joy in seeing either their own children or other’s children being denied their rights to accomplish their own goals.
According to UNICEF in 1989, child abuse is the portion of harm to children that results from human action or inaction  that is proscribed, proximate and preventable.
The African Network for the Prevention or Protection against Child Abuse or Neglect (ANPPCAN), looked at child abuse as the intentional, unintentional or well-intentional act, which endangers the physical, health, emotional, moral and the educational welfare of the child.
Broadly, it means maltreatment of a child. It is any form of action that brings about physical, mental, psychological and social torture to the child.
When you talk about child labour, which includes buying and selling, most times, a woman will intentionally send the child out for hawking with the aim of making money. A situation where a woman’s children will be in school and she finds pleasure in sending a house help out potends danger to that child.
Just recently, when pimary and secondary schools resumed for third term, a woman told her househelp to resume school one week after resumption, thereby dening her classes for the first week of resumption.
A woman should not send an adopted child out to the neighbourhood alone to fetch water when her own children are idle because her role is to protect every child in her care, whether biological or not.
When you talk about child trafficking, apart from children being in school, the mother should be aware of the location of the child at every time. Monitoring the children should be the watchword of every committed mother. When a woman is careless about the whereabouts of the child, that child can be picked up from any location without her knowledge.
A woman should not express anger on everything the child does at home.   A child/ward can be corrected for wrong doing without being battered.  It has been discovered in some homes that child battering has led to death or deformity of some children. A mother should know the kind of punishment a child deserves for correction.
An undergraduate teenage student who was housed by another woman because the student was unable to secure accommodation in the university had it rough with the woman that it got to a point where she slapped the girl during examination period. She never considered that maltreating her could affect her performance in the semester academic work.
No matter the level of provocation, you don’t slap a student who is writing examination.
Some women neglect their children by sending them to others for inability to provide basic needs in the home.  Every responsible woman should be able to have the number of children she can cater for.  While the child is in another woman’s house, no one knows how many meals he or she takes in a day.
Sending a child out for hawking, especially a female, signals danger to the girl.  That is a simple way of exposing her to sexual abuse.  Some irresponsible persons with the pretence of buying something from her can lure her into undesirable sexual abuse.  The danger in this is that it can lead to unwanted pregnancy and contracting of STDs and HIV/AIDS.
Most rape cases that have been recorded are as a result of sending a girl out to hawk.
There is no harm in asking children to assist in selling so as to make up in the home, but if they are to sell in a kiosk no matter how little it may be, a mother can monitor the children there.
A mother should know that giving a child under the age of 18 out for marriage is an abuse. Women must nurture the children to maturity before sending them out in marriage because the dangers of underage marriage are devastating. When an underaged girl is given out for any reason for marriage, it must be remembered that any consequences that arise from that will fall back on the mother.
A mother should not send her child or ward out for prostitution in order to make money.
Parents and guardians, especially mothers should be more educated and more awareness acquired on why they should pay more attention to their children and wards.

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The Wise Woman

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The wise woman builds her home. Mothers are supposed to live exemplary lives. The roles of mothers in the building of the modern Christian home cannot be overemphasized.
The function of the mother is to help the man build the home. She is a helper. A helper to the husband when the man is not doing well. It is important for the wise woman to assist when the man is not able to meet up with the items needed in the home.
A wise woman needs to reference God first and then the husband. Also the wise woman should respect her husband.
Caring for her own children as well as others is very crucial.
Do not despise children from other mothers. Discipline the child who is going the wrong way.
Ensure family bonding, show love and don’t discriminate. Connection with children is very important, especially the females. Find out who is her friend. Also find out the kind of lives they live. Caution, counsel and guide so that they make good partners.
Teaching children the dos and donts should start from birth. Inculcate the word of God in them so that when they grow, will not depart from it.
From the Scripture, some women influenced their families positively. Virgin Mary influenced the world, she never destroyed herself hence she gave birth to Jesus Christ.
Elizabeth, despite her age, God blessed her as she waited patiently.
A wise should curb favouritism in the family and love children equally. Whether a child is your biological child or not, it is necessary to show love equally. Reprimanding the children should be the function of both man and wife.

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Women

The Desire Of Every Woman In Marriage

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Marriage is beautiful when there is love. Before and after marriage, couples show love to themselves. But you discover that after some years, that same love turn to be something else. A lot of people start going through emotional trauma in the hands of their loved spouses.
There are many things the woman desires to keep the love on as far as marriage is concerned.
Women are blesssed with feminine abilities that can be used for good in husbands lives. With your abilities, you can create a marriage that will last till couples get old.
A woman needs
man that is honest,  trustworthy,  nice,  loving and financially stable.
There are no two ways about finance in marriage. No matter the level of love, if there is no reasonable finance,  it is always difficult to manage the home.
Referring to the Biblical belief in Genesis 3: “Your desire  shall be unto you…….. “
What this means is that whatever the woman desires in life shall be provided as far as she performs her role in her home. There are many things  the woman expects her husband to take care of.
A woman wants a husband that is not lazy,  at least helping to do one or two things when he is at home.
A man that is educated and intelligent so that they will transfer such traits to their children.
Knowing that there are traits that her husband has,  traits of taking care of people,  giving freely to people and caring for her family. She expects him to exhibit them.
A woman wants to love a husband that has family interest at heart. A man that spends time with his family,  remembering his family even as he is away from home.
No matter where he finds himself, he is not destracted by external influence. He returns home to his loved ones.
A woman should not antagonise her husband because of one error or the other. No matter the level of offence he may have committed, you still show some love.
According to the Scripture, it is with wisdom that a woman builds her home. As far as he rreturns home, you accept him as your own.
It is not as if the woman will not monitor her husband, but to certain limit.  Don’t be a monitoring spirit.  Don’t allow anything to take your joy.
Don’t loose trust in your husband. The idea of checking your husband’s phone should be discouraged. The more you check your husband and his phone, the more you loose your joy.
You can show some form of jealousy, but to an extent. Cooperation, respect and being honoured from time to time is what the woman desires.
The home should not be a battle ground for a woman and man.  A woman should be able to ask herself if the check on her husband will pay her any good.
Draw a line to a point where you checkmate your husband’s activities.
A woman wants a man that will love her and telling her you love her will be all she desires.

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