Benefits of Breastfeeding Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1500 words

Benefits of Breastfeeding - Research Paper Example (Brown and Isaacs, 2007, p.166) Last few years have witnessed that people now are becoming increasingly aware of the need to change our lifestyles drastically in order to lessen the existing pressures on environment and the available stock of natural resources. One of the most ignored issues, with respect to the health of our mother nature, is probably breastfeeding. Breast milk is one such food item which is not only renewable natural resource and is highly beneficial for the child, but also non-polluting. It does not even require any other natural resources and can be directly fed to the child. On the contrary, the artificial baby food not only pollutes the environment but also depletes the existing stock of natural resources. Statistics show that every year, 1.5 million babies die because of it and many suffer from ill health. Therefore, whether a mother should breast feed her child or not is not only a lifestyle issue but a health, social and environmental issue. (Correa) Body se ction One: Importance of Breast Feeding This section describes the importance of breast feeding in ensuring the healthy development of the child. These articles enumerate that it is important for the mothers to breast feed their child help him grow healthily and also to reduce the medical cost of the family. If bottled milk is replaced by breast milk, this would also reduce the medical expenses of the families. In D Michels’s article titled â€Å"Mother Nature Loves Breast milk†, the author has stated â€Å"If every child in America were bottle-fed, almost 86,000 tons of tin would be needed to produce 550 million cans for one year’s worth of formula.† (Environmental Benefits of Breastfeeding, 2011) The problem with bottle feeding, other than the health issues, is that the bottles, nipples, silicon, glass etc. required for bottle feeding are resource-intensive and to make the matters shoddier, they often lead to non-recyclable and non-biodegradable end pro ducts. Moreover, tests have shown that many of the top brands of baby foods contain some genetically modified components. Even the cows, whose milk is used to prepare these artificial foods, are injected with growth hormones so that more milk is produced. Therefore, these growth hormones also find their way into these baby foods. Mother’s milk, on the other hand, are neither genetically modified nor contaminated by growth hormones, and is therefore healthier for the babies. Mother’s milk also gets absorbed more easily in comparison to formula, as a result of which lesser excretion takes place. (Environmental Benefits of Breastfeeding, 2011) Another matter of rising concern in today’s time is the rising cost of treatment. In the year 2009, the United States had spent around 17.6% of the GDP of the nation, which accounts to $2.5 trillion, on health care. It is becoming increasingly difficult for the authorities and government alike to curb this rising cost. In thi s light, the authorities have stressed on the importance of breastfeeding exclusively for the first 6 months and then continuing it for the next year or two as a part of healthy diet. This will reduce the risk of diseases for the lifetime of the children and also their mothers, as a result of which, a healthier society will emerge. (Gutowski, Walker & Chetwynd, 2010, pp.2-3) Body Section Two: The Nutrition Value of Breast Milk The articles in this