~Tuesday July 9, 2013~
~World Alliance for Breastfeeding (WABA)~
WABA started 22 years ago on Feb. 14, 1991. They're an international program for breastfeeding and urges women to breastfeed. Our group is comprised with 13 girls and 1 boy, but none of us are mothers. It was a very informative day about maternal and child health. There are many benefits of breastfeeding; one of the main reasons they urge breast feeding is prevention of future illnesses and even death.
Some advantages include: fight infection, easy to digest, better brain development, security for both mother and baby. Also breast milk composition differs for each newborn. A component of breast milk is colostrum which is a protective fluid. WABA prefers that mothers breast feed their babies right after birth. They mentioned an interesting fact about bottle fed babies; they said that because of the position the baby is in when being bottle fed, those babies have a higher chance to develop ear infections.
More info about WABA.
~Penang Adventist Hospital~
We also went to the Adventist Hospital. They're a health promoting hospital. They have many programs within the hospitals to keep the patients and community involved, but also focus on maintaining a health lifestyle even after their visit. It's open to all, not just hospital patients.
There was also a lecture on becoming a baby friendly hospital. They also believe in the benefits of breast feeding. They mentioned that the breast feeding rates among Chinese women are low due to a Chinese tradition where after the woman gives birth she's in her confinement period; in which she's treated as the queen and is to be confined so she can regain her health. But many specialist urge breast feeding, so she should not be separated from her baby.
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I have never thought about this because I'm only 20 and I didn't realize the importance of breast feeding so it did shed some light to when I become a mother...which is somewhere in the future one day I hope.
Yes, today was all about breast feeding. For the class, a presentation is required on any topic. I have chosen breast feeding as my topic and I paid close attention to the lectures and grabbed a lot of brochures and pamphlets.