During raising a child, breastfeeding is one of the most crucial processes that mothers remember for years because it unites them with their children, probably, more than anything else. Moreover, mothers who breastfeed have some long- and short-term health benefits. For example, “such mothers have decreased postpartum blood loss and more rapid involution of the uterus” (“Breastfeeding”, p. 831). Their chances of the development of postpartum depression, child abuse and neglect, and rheumatoid arthritis reduce significantly, and such mothers return to their pre-pregnancy weight easier and faster than those who do not breastfeed. According to researches, breastfeeding duration is “associated with a decreased risk of type 2 diabetes mellitus; for each year of breastfeeding, there was a decreased risk of 4% to 12%” (“Breastfeeding”, p. 831). Women who have a cumulative lactation history of twelve to twenty-three months have a significant reduction in diabetes, cardiovascular disease, hyperlipidemia, and hypertension. Cumulative lactation experience influences the decrease of both ovarian and breast cancer. Thereby, each year of breastfeeding reduces the risk levels of breast cancer by 4.3%.
Daily energy needs of well-nourished mothers who breastfeed increase by about 500 kcal per day. This need may be met by a small increase in a normal balanced diet. During lactation, a number of clinicians recommend continuing to use prenatal vitamin supplements. The main recommendation for breastfeeding mothers is to “include an average daily intake of 200 to 300 mg of the polyunsaturated fatty acids to guarantee a sufficient concentration of preformed DHA in the milk” (“Breastfeeding”, p. 833). Per week, consumption of one or two portions of fish can meet this need. However, the intake of predatory fish like swordfish, mackerel, marlin, and pike fish should be avoided. For poorly nourished mothers or those who are on a selective vegan diet may require multivitamins and a supplement of DHA.
Despite the advantages of breastfeeding, there is a limited number of medical contraindications that every mother who is going to breastfeed has to keep in mind. They may be divided into three groups: categorical contraindications, not absolute ones, and only expressed milk allowance. The first group includes situations when a mother is positive for human T-cell lymphotropic virus type I or II or untreated brucellosis as they may be dangerous for the infants (“Breastfeeding”, p. 832). Also, in the industrialized world, it is not recommended that HIV-positive mothers breastfeed to reduce and prevent the risks (“Breastfeeding”, p. 832). However, HIV-positive mothers from developing countries should continue breastfeeding since the mortality level in such areas is increased in non-breastfeeding infants.
Not absolute contraindications include maternal substance or alcohol abuse and smoking. If mothers are “enrolled in a supervised methadone maintenance program and have a negative screening for HIV and illicit drugs,” they are allowed to breastfeed (“Breastfeeding”, p. 832). On the contrary, street drugs like cannabis and cocaine are contraindicated, especially because of the infant’s long-term neurobehavioral development. Alcohol can have a negative effect on infant motor development and blunt prolactin response to suckling. Thereby, it is necessary to limit and minimize maternal ingestion of alcoholic beverages. The same may be said about smoking; it “should be strongly discouraged, because it is associated with an increased incidence in infant respiratory allergy and SIDS” (“Breastfeeding”, p. 832). Also, it may result in poor weight gain and low milk supply.
The third group includes contraindications that forbid breastfeeding but allow feeding infants with expressed milk. For example, a mother with untreated infectious tuberculosis, active herpes simplex lesions on her breast, varicella five days before through two days after delivery, and H1N1 influenza can provide expressed milk for feeding. Due to the fact that such diseases cannot infect infants through expressed milk, it is rather safe and also necessary since mother’s milk is crucial for babies.
Work Cited
“Breastfeeding and the Use of Human Milk.” American Academy of Pediatrics, vol. 129, no. 3, 2012, pp. 827-841.