By Rosalinda Pataytay
Since March is the
month for women, the Wais Tips is
back online to dedicate columns to the unrecognized heroines of the world.
Many are the tasks, duties and responsibilities placed on the shoulder of women
today. But what makes women exceptional is motherhood.
Only women were wired and made in order to
conceive and nurture life. Sadly, because of the demands of modern careers,
many mothers now fail to give their babies the best of the best. A mother’s
milk is the cheapest yet the most nutritious food for infants but many career
moms now fail to breastfeed because they need to go back to work soon or
because they think that formula milk are way better just like what the ads say.
The World Health Organization, an arm of
the United Nations to promote the best health standards, a mother’s milk
contains necessary enzymes to boost the baby’s immune system. Colostrum the
thin, watery, yellowish milk that flows during the first three to four hours
after birth is the best vaccine against diseases your baby can get. WHO thus
recommends exclusive breastfeeding for six months and continued supplemental
breastfeeding until two years and beyond.
In WHO’s guidelines for reducing incidence
of diarrhea, breasfeeding is the top preventive measure because mother’s milk
contains the proteins whey (60 %) and casein (40 %). This protein balance
allows quick and easy digestion. Some formula or artificial milk contains more
casein so babies have difficulty moving bowels otherwise they will have watery
stool.
Mother’s
milk is also the natural source of bifidus that some formula milk brands
supposedly contain. Bifidus supports the growth of lactobacillus that protects
the baby from harmful bacteria by creating an acidic environment where they
cannot thrive.
Mother’s milk is fatty but its fats are the
healthy kinds that promote the development of the brain, retina (eye part) and
nervous system. The fats in breastmilk do not cause obesity and diabetes
because they are all natural and can be easily metabolized.
Did you know that infants who are
exclusively breastfed do not even have to take artificial vitamin drops? That’s
right because breast milk is already a complete package of fat-soluble vitamins
A, D, E, and K, and water-soluble vitamins C, riboflavin, niacin, and
panthothenic acid. Plus, it has lactose, its carbohydrate component that will
definitely give baby the real full tummy without ingesting excess air.
But just when we think, breast feeding only
benefits the little ones, it cares for mommies, too. According to Adele
Pillitteri in her Maternal and Child
Health Nursing textbook, breastfeeding protects mothers from breast cancer
and aids the release of oxytocin that help the uterus to retain its original
size. “Successful breastfeeding can have empowering effect because it is a
skill only women can master,” Pillitteri adds.
Thus, in order to give your child the best
give him/her your own milk because as the Department of Health advocacy says a
cow’s milk is for its calf not for the human baby. Aside from the fact that it
is cheap, it is better than any other milk available in the market.
Moreover,
women who are breastfeeding do not only initiate babies into a naturally
healthy environment but also empower themselves in the process knowing that
they are able to perform the most important task in the world.
Sources: Pillitteri, Adele; Maternal and
Child Health Nursing. http://www.babycenter.com.ph/baby/breastfeeding/benefitsexpert/;http://www.americanpregnancy.org/firstyearoflife/whatsinbreastmilk.html
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