Studies done in the past five years have revealed that only about 33% of children under the age of six months are currently being breast fed. This is in spite of efforts by the world health organization (WHO),United nations educational, scientific and cultural organization (UNESCO), Pediatricians 0bstetricians and many others to educate women on the benefits to them and their children on the benefits of breastfeeding
Women are generally encouraged to give their children only breast milk exclusively for six months and then gradually continue with mixed nutrition with breast milk and cereals for another six months.
Components present in breast milk are species specific and apart from humans, no other primates will knowingly consume or give breast milk from another species to her offspring, and hence Animals in the wild are comparatively free from allergenic disorders.
Children born to women in towns and cities are increasingly being diagnosed with diseases that were alien in this part of the world- Autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, celiac disease, trichotillomania, etc. Advanced Cases of bronchiolitis, bronchopneumonia, allergy, diarrhea etc are increasingly being brought to children emergency wards with some of them having the common history of either having been abandoned, or mothers failing to establish successful breast feeding, thereby resorting to alternative methods of nutrition
There are only very few conditions in which advice concerning alternatives to breast feeding and lactation can become necessary. Non medical people giving lectures on such issues based on their personal experiences may do more harm than good by giving incorrect or very bad advice
Particularly in children born with congenital abnormalities the risk is high of such children being thrown away or abandoned if an affected mother is told she can’t breast feed, in a similar way, much care is needed when an HIV.AIDS positive woman is delivered and there are no trained health officials around. Any incorrect or badly constructed advice could precipitate the woman either taking her own life or killing her child. This is because women who are willing and able to breastfeed their children do so with strong emotional attachment rooted in natural love, happiness and fulfillment. When disrupted or removed, the reactions are unpredictable.
What Is Breast Milk And How Is It Produced?
Breast milk may be defined as a biological fluid, produced in the breast of a mother in response to pregnancy and sucking
Breast feeding is the natural act of providing a young baby with vital nutrients produced and stored in the breast
How Human Breast Milk Is Produced
Breast milk is formed from salts, sugars, protein fat in your own blood as they flow through tiny blood vessels in your breast. The mammary epithelium is a modified epithelium much like many such cells in the retina of the eyes and vascular endothelium of the Heart. The mammary epithelium has been credited as being the leader of the milk synthesizing orchestra, integrating a number of endocrine events involving certain pathways ,some of which have not been completely clarified—Exocytose, Transcytosis, transmembrane and paracellular mechanisms.
The products of these mechanisms are the oligosaccharides which seal and protect the intestinal mucosa(covering).The baby on artificial milk lacks this protection and comes down frequently and may die from diarrheal diseases
The mammary epithelium also guides the B lymphocytes to the specific apparatus(homing) in the mammary gland for the synthesis of immunoglobulin without which the new born or infant would die from overwhelming infections – mostly respiratory.
The specialized epithelium is also involved in the synthesis of lipoprotein lipase, this is linked ultimately to the production of membrane lipids
Membrane lipids are essential layering structures in the brain of growing children.
Lactogenesis
Once the placenta is expelled, a woman feels much more like a mother, because, levels of the pregnancy hormone Estrogen and Progesterone , particularly Progesterone drop, allowing the lactating hormone-Prolactin to rise.-
Unlike goats and cows, not much human breast milk is stored after it has been produced, and just looking at her baby alone activates the pituitary mammary axis ; the mother experiences the oxytocin effect, and the myoepithelial cells contract to gently pump breast milk into baby’s mouth ,continuous flow aided by the sucking action of the mouth ,which when firmly and completely wrapped around the nipple areola complex ensures very successful breast feeding. The law of demand and supply holds here, once the breast is full, a feedback inhibitor lactation protein is introduced ,the prolactin receptors are all occupied and further binding is suspended until the child has sufficiently reduced the quantity of breast milk.
