Breastfeeding Health Teaching Project Research Paper

Abstract

Breastfeeding is the process of feeding babies with breast milk, be it through natural suckling of the breast or bottle-feeding. Breastfeeding is an essential part of child growth because of its role in immunity and intellectual development. This script is entirely meant to teach new mothers how to ensure their children benefit fully from breastfeeding. The script includes a teaching plan which will be our guide in the presentation.

The plan indicates the topics of discussion, time allocation, and teaching modules. Throughout the session, the script focuses on explaining the details of breastfeeding, including a detailed explanation of breast milk production, breast hygiene, and the benefits of breastfeeding. Through the session, clients will learn the breastfeeding techniques, including breastfeeding positions and patterns as well child health and wellbeing. The presentation will be through discussions, questions and answers and demonstrations.

Goal

This teaching project aims to educate first-time mothers on the ideal practical breastfeeding techniques and train them for the motherly role.

Specific objectives

1. At the end of the session, the mothers should have mastered the breastfeeding techniques.
2. Each client should be able to demonstrate various breastfeeding positions, burping, and latching-on techniques.
3. It is expected that each client does not develop any complications during breastfeeding.
4. Each mother will be able to breastfeed their children for the recommended six months period successfully.
5. To ensure the baby attains optimum breastfeeding health benefits.

Teaching plan

Teaching session script

Teaching Plan on Breastfeeding for New Mothers

Hello to you all? Thank you for being present today, and congratulations. Motherhood is not only a God-given gift but as well as Godly duty to sire and take care of human life. As a mother, feel blessed and strive always to take care of your baby. Today, we are all here to discuss and learn about the most crucial role of a mother in child care and health, breastfeeding. As a professional nurse who has specialized in neonatal nursing and practiced in various hospitals globally, I understand the relevance of proper breastfeeding to the child. In my practice period, I have noted that most mothers fail to understand how to care for the baby during the first six months.

You are all here wondering why breastfeeding should be a subject of question as it seems to be an easy activity. Hopefully, by the time we finish this session, we all will understand that breastfeeding is a technique that requires mastery of the skills to ensure it is effective (Walters et al., 2019). Everyone is free to ask any question or concern. I know you are all new mothers, and that can be a bit frightening. Through what we learn today we will be able to ensure effective breastfeeding without any difficulties.

You are up to a task to know a thing about barely and that the relevance of today’s session to ensure that at the end, we are all ready and competent enough to perform the motherhood role. I have provided handouts to every one of you to help you better understand today’s presentation. As we will be discussing, you will notice that all our topics have been summarized in the handout.

To appreciate the need for these kinds of sessions, let me briefly describe the current statistics. In our country, breastfeeding has major variations based on a range of factors such as job status, maternal age, and socioeconomic status. Though campaigns have been launched to encourage breastfeeding, there has been a slight improvement of about 10% nationally. Statistically, of all babies born, 83% of them were breastfed at some time (Walters et al., 2019). 47% of the infants were breastfed exclusively for about three months, and only 25% were breastfed exclusively for six months (Walters et al., 2019).

Let us discuss the description of the breast, its hygiene, and infections. In the layman language, the breast can be described as the breast milk manufacturing site. The breast is made of body tissues specialized in producing milk. Breast hygiene is crucial in the prevention of infections by destroying bacteria (McFadden et al., 2017). However, washing your breast before you breastfeed is not a requirement. To ensure breasts are kept hygienic, always keep the nipples dry and clean (Walters et al., 2019). In case anyone uses breast pads, it is encouraged to change them often or when they wet.

The use of breast pads that have backs made of plastic is not medically advisable. Always remember to put on light clothing that allows adequate air circulation. It is salient to monitor for any sign of breast infection during the breastfeeding process (McFadden et al., 2017). Mastitis is a breast inflammation that signifies an infection. If the swelling is accompanied by warmth, redness warmth, body fever, and chills, that means you have a complication, and you should visit a health facility.

Maybe most of you do not understand what I mean by the physiology of lactation. The body produces breastmilk with the help of two major hormones which are prolactin and oxytocin (Pérez-Escamilla, 2020). Discussing this issue enables you to understand how breast milk is formed and the principles of breastfeeding. Let us discuss the reflexes of the baby as they are the major controllers of breastfeeding.

The significant reflexes include rooting, suckling, and swallowing. The rooting reflex is demonstrated when something touches the baby’s mouth or cheek (McFadden et al., 2017). They always turn toward it and open their mouths, putting the tongue forward. An example of the suckling reflex is when a child sucks their palate once something touches it. When breastfeeding, the child will always swallow the milk when the mouth is full. This is what is considered the swallowing reflex of the baby. The child’s ability to coordinate all the reflexes properly develops at 32 to 52 weeks of pregnancy (Pérez-Escamilla, 2020). Understanding the reflexes and their maturity helps us determine if the child can breastfeed directly or need other methods.

At this point, I could like every one of us to imagine her child. What are the signs that show that the child is angry, what shows the child is not comfortable, and how can the child have breastfed enough.? If the nipple looks squashed from side to side and stays stretched out, it shows that the nipple is damaged due to incorrect suction (Guille et al., 2020). When the child is suckling, and you observe the cheeks being drawn in, the child is not swallowing the milk well

As new mothers, it is of paramount importance to understand the nutritional requirement of your child. The composition of the milk includes proteins, vitamins, carbohydrates, fats, minerals, and water (Ashi & Badiger, 2021). The milk is also easy to digest, giving the baby’s developing digestion system the ability to digest completely. Breast milk is major of two types: colostrum and mature milk (Ashi & Badiger, 2021). Colostrum is referred to as the special milk produced within the second to the third day of delivery.

At this chanter, we will learn about the breastfeeding technique, how the focus will be on how to position the baby, and the breastfeeding patterns. The baby can be laid in different positions concerning the mother, such as across her chest and abdomen, under the arms, or along the body (Guille et al., 2020). Though there are different positions, there are key points that have to be observed keenly during positioning. They include the baby should face the breast and should not lie flat against the chest or abdomen. As a mother also ensure you hold the infant linearly and close to you. Look at the handouts kindly and see the images of what I’m saying.

One fact about babies is that each one of them has a different breastfeeding frequency and consumption amounts. We are learning today how to ensure that concerning your child’s feeding patterns, they feed enough. In 24 hours, as a mother, you should make sure your child consumes between 400 to 1200 milliliters. On average, a baby should consume 800 ml per day for the six-month exclusive breastfeeding (Ashi & Badiger, 2021). However, that puts no restriction on breastfeeding capacity. As a new mother, you must understand that the child should be breastfed as many times as possible.

This is the end of today’s presentation, and it is my sincere belief that we all learned and will stick to what we have learned today. At this point, I welcome forward any member who wishes to ask a question, comment on the presentation or give her observations. We shall be taking turns in the discussion, and I request we respect each other’s opinions. I relay my sincerest appreciation and gratefulness to you all for attending this session and may God bless us all.

Brochure

Breastfeeding Welcome, all, and congratulations on accepting the motherhood duty. Child care and development begin on conception.	Foods to take during breastfeeding As a mother, especially new mothers, it is salient to understand your diets should include: Proteins such as eggs and fish. Vegetables, especially dark green vegetables. Fruits. Whole grains. Avoid meals such as: Alcohol and drugs. Excessive caffeine. Dairy products.
Benefits of breastfeeding Breastfeeding is of great importance to both the child and mother. It promotes the child’s body immunity and health. Breast milk has a crucial duty in the child’s mental and intellectual development.	Breastfeeding positions The images above describe the various position a mother can put on the baby during breastfeeding.
Breast hygiene Keep your breast clean and dry always. Always clean your breast properly once a day.	Your attendance and participation are highly appreciated.

References

Ashi, R. S., & Badiger, M. G. (2021). Breastfeeding in infants: A critical overview. International Journal of Pediatric Nursing, 7(1), 1-8.

Guille, S., Sinclair, M., Bunting, B., Reid, B., & McCarron, P. A. (2020). Positioning and attachment interventions for nipple pain: a systematic review. Evidence Based Midwifery, 30(3), 293-306.

McFadden, A., Gavine, A., Renfrew, M. J., Wade, A., Buchanan, P., Taylor, J. L., Veitch, E., Rennie, A. M., Crowther, S.A., Neiman, S., & MacGillivray, S. (2017). Support for healthy breastfeeding mothers with healthy term babies. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, (2).

Pérez-Escamilla, R. (2020). Breastfeeding in the 21st century: How we can make it work. Social Science & Medicine, 244, 112331.

Walters, D. D., Phan, L. T., & Mathisen, R. (2019). The cost of not breastfeeding: Global results from a new tool. Health Policy and Planning, 34(6), 407-417.