There are various benefits linked to breastfeeding and one of them is that it helps in the protection of the babies against some short-term and long-term illnesses and diseases. It, therefore, implies that breastfed babies have a reduced risk of diseases such as asthma, sudden infant death syndrome, type 1 diabetes, and obesity. There is also a lower risk of ear infections and stomach bugs. Breastfeeding is helping in boosting the immune system of babies since breast milk is a strong illness-inhibiting food. The anti-effective properties of breast milk assist in strengthening the immune system hence helping in the prevention of harmful bacterial growth (Hentschel, 2018). Breast milk is helping in balancing the baby’s belly. It plants good bacteria into the digestive system that helps in building a stronger and healthy baby.
However, there are disadvantages associated with breastfeeding. One of them is that it requires healthy lifestyle choices in this case, a mother is expected to diet and change in lifestyle during breastfeeding. A baby can react to different foods in the mother’s diet. It might also force them to stop eating dairy products or other foods they always enjoy. The other disadvantage is that breastfeeding can be painful, therefore, the mother might sometimes feel uncomfortable or even experience painful problems during the process. Other problems include mastitis, engorgement of the breast, and sore nipples (Hentschel, 2018). For the mothers breastfeeding for the first time, it can be a challenge since not every baby latches or breastfeeds well. Some mothers feel disappointed or discouraged since breastfeeding is a learning process.
The advantages and disadvantages of the formula feeding
Various advantages are associated with formula feeding, for example, it is a flexible process since the mother is not required to fit pumping into the work schedule. As an alternative, the mother can leave the formula for the babysitters or the daycare center. The other advantage is that scheduling feedings can be much easier. The formula not easily digested faster like the breast milk, therefore, babies are not required to frequently eat more so during the first few months (Gibbs et al., 2018). Formula feeding makes it possible to be helped by the partner especially during the nighttime feedings and sharing the bond experience with the baby.
There are however concerns associated with formula feeding, for example, the absence of the antibodies in the manufactured formula. So the formula has no ability to protects the babies against illnesses and infections like in the case of the breast milk. The other concern is that formula feeding are yet to help in the duplication of the complexity of breast milk that leads to the changes in the needs of the baby. The other challenge associated with formula feeding is the expenses since the formula is costly (Gibbs et al., 2018). The powdered formula tends to be the least expensive and concentrated. This, therefore, implies that only few can afford or access them.
The impact of breastfeeding on a working mother
Working mothers encounter the problem of balancing breastfeeding and paid jobs. This leads to high chances of stopping breastfeeding at early stages and not adhering to the recommended exclusive breastfeeding (Abekah-Nkrumah et al., 2020). The working mothers find it hard to breastfeed as a result of early return to work, inadequate time for the maternity leave, absence of privacy, the fear of being watched and judged while breastfeeding in the public, fatigue, and inadequate support at the place of employment. All these factors leads to the low uptake of the recommended exclusive breastfeeding amongst breastfeeding mothers who are employed.
Many organizations do not understand these mothers and the importance of having exclusive breastfeeding. The dynamics of the workplaces constrain the ability of the mothers to ensure exclusive breastfeeding like the non-working mothers (Abekah-Nkrumah et al., 2020). Therefore, there is a need to understand the factors that promote or constrain exclusive breastfeeding by employed or working mothers.
One legal issue or recent legislation related to breastfeeding
Congress recently passed the Fairness for Breastfeeding Act of 2019 in July 2019. According to the requirements of this law, the buildings are required to offer a shielded, hygienic space, as opposed to a bathroom that has chai, working space, and an electrical outlet for use. Section 4207 of Public Laws 11-148 and 11-152 amends the Fair Labor Standards (FLSA) of 1938 that requires the employer to offer reasonable break time for the worker to express the breast milk for their babies at one year following the delivery of the child (National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL), 2021). The employer is required to offer a place instead to facilitate express breast milk. If the requirement imposes an undue hardship, an organization with less than 50 workers are not subjected to these demands. The requirements federal shall not preempt a state law that offers greater protection to the workers.
References
Abekah-Nkrumah, G., Antwi, M. Y., Nkrumah, J., & Gbagbo, F. Y. (2020). Examining working mothers’ experience of exclusive breastfeeding in Ghana. International breastfeeding journal, 15(1), 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13006-020-00300-0
Gibbs, B. G., Forste, R., & Lybbert, E. (2018). Breastfeeding, parenting, and infant attachment behaviors. Maternal and Child Health Journal, 22(4), 579-588. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10995-018-2427-z
Hentschel, R. (2018). Breastfeeding problems should be the only relevant criteria for deciding whether to carry out a frenotomy in infancy. Acta Paediatrica, 107(10), 1697-1701.
National Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL). (2021, August 26). Breastfeeding State Laws. Retrieved from https://www.ncsl.org/research/health/breastfeeding-state-laws.aspx#:~:text=Congress%20passed%20the%20Fairness%20for,the%20public%20to%20express%20milk.
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