Child Development and Breastfeeding.........

This topic is very near and dear to my heart. I breastfed all four of my children , unfortunately not as long as I wanted to.   On a recent Time Magazine cover a mother is shown in a standing position , with her 3 year old son suckling her breast. The article goes on describing the benefits of breastfeeding a child until their about 4 or 5, but the article stresses how most Americans are still uncomfortable with witnessing a mother breastfeeding her child in public.

I visited a website dedicated to breast feeding around the world, www.007b.com/public-breast-feeding-world.php , and focused on the women in Ghana.  The attitude toward breastfeeding in Ghana is that , this is the only way to go and bottle feeding is for, " orphans, mothers who cannot produce enough milk, upper class wannabes and expatriates. Mother's who don't breast feed when their child is crying in public, are frowned upon and looked at as though the child is not theirs.

The benefits of breastfeeding includes but not limited to : easier to digest for babies, fights disease such as respiratory problems, asthma , obesity , it also saves money on formula. There are also benefits for the mother , lowers her risk for type 2 diabetes, breast and ovarian cancer and postpartum depression.

I believe breast feeding provides a good start for children and can benefit them as they enter into their educational journey.