Breastfeeding (for grownup discussion) :)

[Delta4Embassy]

Noticing the other thread, now closed, wanted to weigh in but couldn't. Judging by the 'arrousal when breastfeeding' link, and the replies to it, I'd say some people need a refresher course on anatomy.

There are nerve endings in our nipples and breasts which go to our genitals. Thus, if a woman becomes sexually arroused during breastfeeding...Ya well, as anyone who's engaged in nipple stimulation during sex can attest, it feels very nice. Has nothing to do with mother-child relationships though. It's as unavoidable as when a guy gets an STI check from a very pretty blonde internist handling his junk. "Sorry Doc'" - "That's ok, it's normal."

Only reason this was even a thing is people are ignorant beyond belief about their own bodies so when they see this kind of thing they think it's unusual. Look at it from the other perspective: If women knew they could have orgasms from breastfeeding (which they can) more would do it strengthening more children's immune systems, enhancing family bonds which results in less criminality, costs to the state and taxpayers paying for sick people, etc..

But no, let's make it a topic to snicker at like still in junior high laughing at a guy's erection in gym calling him 'fag,' (then in later life wishing you got arroused so easily) or a girl's smaller bosom (even though bigger ones typically translate into higher risks of breast cancer.)

 

[Delta4Embassy]

We have nipples solely for the purpose of breastfeeding our newborns. And if mothers can get orgasmic pleasure out of it, I'd chalk that up to evolution providing incentive to do so. Just as with sexual intercourse and orgasms, it evolved to encourage reproduction.

Interestingly, men have nipples for the same reason. Strange but true, but men can lactate and breastfeed.

Strange but True: Males Can Lactate - Scientific American

It's unfortunate that in the US, and about a dozen other countries, our entire worldview about the female breast is sexual in nature and not biological. Rest of the world doesn't hold the same fascination with breasts we do. In Brazil they're all about the butt, other cultures the hips, but of the 200 or so countries, just a dozen or so have any big interest in breasts.

Worthwhile article here about sexual objectification of women in advertising.
Sexual Objectification, Part 1: What is it?

Being this is how our culture treats the female (and male) body, our juvenille sniggering about breastfeeding isn't so shocking. Unfortunate, but not shocking.

 

[waltky]

Granny says mebbe if dem mooslum mamas breastfed dey's babies, dey wouldn't grow up to be jihadis...

Breastfeeding linked to better childhood behavior: study
June 21, 2016 • The World Health Organization recommends that a child be fed only breast milk for the first six months

Children breastfed exclusively for their first six months of life have an easier time behaving as primary school students, according to new research published Tuesday. Carried out in South Africa, the study assessed more than 1,500 children and found a strong link between how long they were breastfed and signs of behavioral disorders between the ages of seven and 11.

Children fed only breast milk for their first six months -- as recommended by the World Health Organization -- were 56 percent less likely to exhibit such disorders than those breastfed for less than one month, found the study published in the PLOS medical journal. "The duration of exclusive breastfeeding of an infant has greater importance than previously realized in several areas of development," said Tamsen Rochat of the Human Science Research Council in Durban, a lead author of the Canadian government-financed study.

Rochat emphasized that childhood conduct disorders are associated with social problems -- including violence and crime -- later in life, as well as poor long-term mental health and low academic achievement. The research also found that young children who attended daycare for at least one year were 74 percent more likely to achieve higher executive functions, enabling them to plan, concentrate and remember instructions. The brain needs these skills to prioritize tasks, filter out distractions and achieve goals, noted study authors.

Young children who received stimulation only at home were just 36 percent more likely to achieve high executive functions. The study also analyzed a number of environmental factors that could influence child development, and found that children were two-and-a-half times more likely to develop behavioral problems if their mothers showed signs of mental health issues or severe parenting stress.

Breastfeeding linked to better childhood behavior: study

 

[waltky]

World Breastfeeding Week starts today...

Breastfeeding rate hits 45.5 percent
Mon, Aug 01, 2016 - ‘BABY-FRIENDLY HOSPITAL’: The Health Promotion Administration urged women to give birth at certified hospitals, of which there are 182 across the nation

With World Breastfeeding Week starting today, the Health Promotion Administration yesterday said a survey it conducted showed the nation’s breastfeeding rate in the first six months of a baby’s life reached 45.5 percent, adding that there is still room for improvement in creating a breastfeeding-friendly environment. According to the agency’s statistics collected last year, Taiwan’s breastfeeding rate surpassed the world average rate of 38 percent and is getting closer to the WHO’s global target of increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months up to at least 50 percent by 2025.

The survey showed that 65.3 percent of breastfeeding mothers are satisfied with the general breastfeeding environment and 78.1 percent consider their workplace supportive of breastfeeding or pumping. Administration Director Wang Ying-wei said the survey also showed that 57.1 percent of mothers stopped breastfeeding because they did not have enough breast milk, while 21.9 percent said they had difficulty breastfeeding or pumping at their workplace. The survey showed that some people are not satisfied with the breastfeeding environment, so there is still room for improvement, the agency said.

Breastfeeding is a natural and low-cost method of feeding infants and is good for their health, it said, adding that the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action also said that breast milk is a nutritious and safer food for infants, adding that breastfeeding is friendlier to the ecosystem than formula feeding. It recommended exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and introducing complementary foods with breastfeeding until the baby is two years old or older. Administration official Chen Miao-hsin said some studies have found that benefits of breastfeeding for infants include a reduced risk of developing ear infections, digestive tract and respiratory diseases, as well as diabetes or allergies.

The administration said women should give birth at hospitals that have a “baby-friendly hospital” certification — of which there are 182 in the nation — so that they are allowed to have direct skin contact with their newborn within 30 minutes of giving birth and to stay in the same room as their baby for at least 24 hours, adding that healthcare practitioners can also instruct new mothers how to breastfeed. Wang said collective participation is needed to raise a baby, adding that in addition to the help of family members, society should support a breastfeeding and baby-friendly environment. Agencies provide various resources to help new parents, Wang said, adding that a toll-free hotline (0800-870-870) and a Web site (國民健康署-孕產婦關懷網站 - 孕產婦關懷網站) is available for pregnant women to ask questions or find information about pregnancy.

Breastfeeding rate hits 45.5 percent - Taipei Times

 

[Muhammed]

There are nerve endings in our nipples and breasts which go to our genitals.

In other words, you flunked anatomy.

 

[waltky]

Uncle Ferd all for it...

UN Agencies Urge More Support, Funds for Breastfeeding
August 02, 2017 : The World Health Organization and the U.N. Children's Fund (UNICEF) recommend that mothers breastfeed within the first hour after giving birth and continue until their children reach age 2, with supplemental food as they grow older. Yet no country in the world meets these standards or provides enough support for breastfeeding mothers, according to a report the agencies released Tuesday.

"Breast milk works like a baby's first vaccine, protecting infants from potentially deadly diseases and giving them all the nourishment they need to survive and thrive," Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO director-general, said in a press release. Anthony Lake, executive director of UNICEF, posed this question on UNICEF's website: "What if governments had a proven, cost-effective way to save babies' lives, reduce rates of malnutrition, support children's health, increase educational attainment and grow productivity?"

Lake provided the answer: "They do: It's called breastfeeding. And it is one of the best investments nations can make in the lives and futures of their youngest members — and in the long-term strength of their societies."[ According to the Global Breastfeeding Initiative, a partnership of 20 international agencies whose goal is to increase investment in breastfeeding worldwide under the leadership of UNICEF and WHO, breastfeeding can bolster brain development, which in turn can lead to a smarter, more productive work force.

Mothers feed their babies in Paris, Oct. 11, 2008, during a worldwide breastfeeding event.​

Furthermore, breastfeeding saves mothers' and babies' lives. In the first six months of life, it helps prevent diarrhea and pneumonia, two major causes of infant death. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, two leading causes of death among women. The World Health Assembly, the decision-making body of the WHO, wants to see at least 50 percent of the world's children under 6 months of age exclusively breastfed by 2025. Reaching that target will require an investment of an additional $5.7 billion, or just $4.70 per newborn, for such things as improving breastfeeding practices in maternity facilities and improving access to lactation counseling — and it could generate $300 billion in economic gains across lower- and middle-income countries by 2025 and save 520,000 children's lives in the next 10 years, according to a World Bank study.

Because nursing mothers need support from their families and communities, and governments worldwide need to implement policies such as paid maternity leave and nursing breaks, the U.N. agencies declared August 1-7 World Breastfeeding Week.

UN Agencies Urge More Support, Funds for Breastfeeding

See also:

Study Suggests Moms Who Breast-feed Have Lower Risk of Heart Disease Later
June 21, 2017 - A new study suggests a link between breast-feeding and a lowered risk of heart disease in older women.

The research by Chinese investigators found that women who breast-fed may have lowered their risk of heart disease or stroke by an average of 10 percent when they became older. Researchers at the Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking University and the University of Oxford analyzed data on 289,573 women whose average age was 51. They found that those who breast-fed had a 9 percent lower risk of heart disease and an 8 percent decreased risk of stroke, compared with women who had never nursed. The benefit was even greater for women who breast-fed their babies for two years or more. Their heart disease risk was 18 percent lower and the risk of stroke 17 percent less.

Jessica Ewald breast-feeds her 5-month-old son, Bennett, at her home in Oakbrook Terrace, Ill.​

Each additional month of breast-feeding was associated with a 4 percent and 3 percent lower risk of heart disease and stroke, respectively, researchers said. The findings of the study, the first to look at the long-term health benefits of breast-feeding for women, were published in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Hormone's possible role

Cardiologist Nieca Goldberg, who was not involved in the study, said the cardiovascular benefits could have been related to the release of oxytocin during breast-feeding. "Oxytocin is a hormone that helps the flexibility of our blood vessels," she said. "And flexible blood vessels are resistant to the buildup of plaque or cholesterol in the walls of the arteries." Breast-feeding provides a number of benefits, such as conferring a mother's immune protection to her infant and protecting a newborn from life-threatening infections in countries with poor water quality.

There are short-term benefits for mothers, too. Studies indicate that breast-feeding appears to reset the woman's metabolism after pregnancy, so she loses baby weight faster, while lowering her cholesterol, blood pressure and glucose levels. Goldberg, medical director at the Joan H. Tisch Center for Women's Health in New York, said it was possible that women in the study who breast-fed, and saw heart healthy benefits, might have also led healthier lifestyles compared with other women.

Other strategies

Related:

UNICEF: Mother’s Milk Best For Newborn Babies
August 01, 2016 — The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) warns that 77 million babies deprived of mother’s milk within the first crucial hours after birth are at great risk of dying within a month. To mark World Breastfeeding Week (August 1 to 7), UNICEF and the World Health Organization (WHO) are calling for newborns to be breastfed exclusively for six months.

UNICEF says newborns should be breastfed within the first hour of life. This provides them with the essential nutrients, antibodies and skin-to-skin contact with their mother that protects them from disease and death. UNICEF reports the longer breastfeeding is delayed, the higher the risk of death in the first month of life. It warns delaying breastfeeding by 24 or more hours after birth increases that risk to 80 percent. On the other hand, it notes more than 800,000 lives would be saved if all babies were fed nothing but mother’s milk from the moment they were born until six months of age.

Women breastfeed babies during a mass event in Athens​

Unfortunately, the World Health Organization says this message is slow in getting through. WHO spokeswoman, Fadela Chaib, said new mothers are not receiving the support and encouragement they need to breast feed their babies. “The slogan this year is breastfeed anywhere, any time because it is also, as I said, the role of society to make this possible for mothers who want to breast feed. This being said, yes, it is an old problem. We have always been advocating for more breastfeeding because we are convinced of the benefit of breastfeeding. It is really the ideal food for infants,” said Chaib. For example, she said, breastfeeding protects children against many common illnesses. Breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life.

Chaib told VOA that inappropriate marketing of infant formula continues to undermine efforts to get women to breastfeed their babies. “We are not against them producing this kind of milk. What we are against is the fact that they promote it as if it is the same value that the milk of the mother. It is a lie. It is not the same,” said Chaib. Progress in getting more newborns breastfed within the first hour of life has been slow over the past 15 years. Surveys show in sub-Saharan Africa, where under-five mortality rates are the highest in the world, early breastfeeding rates have remained unchanged.

UNICEF: Mother’s Milk Best For Newborn Babies