Causes for Differences in Breastfeeding Practices among Australian and Iranian Women
The results of National Health Survey in Australia conducted in the year 2001 showed that only 87% of babies discharged from the hospital were breastfed and only 54% of all infants of three months age were breastfed by the Australian mothers. However, statistics out of the survey indicate that none of the babies at the age of six months was breastfed. This situation is different from the country of Iran where 98% of the mothers start breastfeeding immediately after delivering and 67.1% of the mothers breastfeed their babies at the age of 3 months. At the age of six months, 56 percent of the babies were breastfed (ABS, 2003).
There are reasons behind this variation in the percentage of babies getting breastfed in the countries of Australia and Iran. The cultural differences between Australia and Iran play a major role in this respect. Breastfeeding is the norm of infant feeding in Iran and the Muslim religious belief also encourage breastfeeding (Hunt, 2006). In Iran, there is a strong support to the practice of breastfeeding by the mass media including television, which promotes the practice of breastfeeding. Greater visibility and prevalence of breastfeeding practices among women also increases the breastfeeding duration.
In Iran four months of paid monetary leave is provided to all working-women. In Australia, there are no legal provisions providing for maternity leave, which forces the mothers to return to work as soon as possible after delivery and this impedes their breastfeeding practices. Thus “Iran’s Government-sponsored national breastfeeding promotion program, a culture of breastfeeding in Iran, differences in Health Services delivery, including the uptake of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, more rapid return to paid work, and religious and cultural issues” (Zaraeai, O’Brien, & Fallon, 2007) are some of the factors, which make the Iranian women adopting to higher duration of breastfeeding practices.
Strategies for Improving Breastfeeding Practices
Strategies, which have been employed in Iran to popularize breastfeeding, may also work well Australia. These include establishing national policies supporting breastfeeding practices, providing adequate, mandated maternity leave provisions that reflect the importance of the practices of breastfeeding and the introduction of adequate provisions in the work place that will facilitate the women return to paid work and at the same time maintain breastfeeding.
Providing free antenatal classes to all pregnant women on the value and importance of breastfeeding the infants would be another strategy to increase the awareness among the women to encourage the breastfeeding practices. In Iran, the extension of the existing strategies of government support to the breastfeeding women would enhance the breastfeeding practices. In addition, interactive education classes conducted for educating women would also be of benefit to the women to encourage the practice of breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding in the Context of United States
The situation in the United States with respect to breastfeeding practices is not different from that in Australia. Rates for breastfeeding through age of 3 months and 6 months among infants born during the year 2004 were estimated at 30.5% and 11.3%, which are much lower as compared to the rates found in the context of Iran. Therefore, the findings of the study appear to be relevant even for the breastfeeding practices by American women.
In the year 2007, Healthy People 2010 has fixed the objectives of the breastfeeding to reach the rates of 60% at the age of 3 months for the babies and 25% until the age of 6 months (Center for Disease Prevention, 2007). Since the rates have not been reached, the initiatives bring followed in Iran with respect to the breastfeeding by Iran government and healthcare institutions would encourage breastfeeding among American women.
References
ABS. (2003). Australian Bureau of Statistics, report on breastfeeding in Australia, 17. Web.
Centerfordiseaseprevention. (2007). Breastfeeding Trends and Updated National Health Objectives for Exclusive Breastfeeding — United States, Birth Years 2000–2004. MMWR Weekly , 56 (30), 760-763.
Hunt, F. (2006). Breastfeeding and Society. Pediatric Nursing , 18 (8), 24-26.
Zaraeai, M., O’Brien, M. L., & Fallon, A. B. (2007). Creating a Breastfeeding Culture: A Comparison of Breastfeeding. Web.