francene--blog. Year 2013
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Nov 12th

11/12/2013

 
Picturewww.breastfeedingexperience.com
New mothers in deprived areas of England are to be offered financial incentives to encourage them to breastfeed their babies. What! The natural bond between mother and baby is no longer acceptable? Next, women will insist that test tubes take over the whole business of producing offspring. Okay, the new mothers need to learn that the practice is acceptable and beneficial. Maybe men should be consulted about this too.

Funded through collaboration between government and the medical research sector, new mothers will be offered the vouchers, which they can then use in supermarkets and high street shops. To qualify for the full £200 of rewards, the women will have to breastfeed until six months. Midwives and health visitors will be asked to verify whether the women are breastfeeding. Hopefully, these experts will teach and encourage the mothers too.

The areas chosen have low breastfeeding rates. On average just one in four mothers are breastfeeding by the six- to eight-week mark compared with a national average of 55%.


Pictureen.wikipedia.org
Most of us from an earlier generation know breast milk is best for your baby, and the benefits of breastfeeding extend well beyond basic nutrition. In addition to containing all the vitamins and nutrients your baby needs in the first six months of life, breast milk is packed with disease-fighting substances that protect your baby from illness. Numerous studies from around the world have shown that stomach viruses, lower respiratory illnesses, ear infections, and meningitis occur less often in breastfed babies and are less severe when they do happen.

Scientists think that immune factors in breast milk provide a layer of protection to a baby's intestinal tract. Without this protection, inflammation can develop and the wall of the intestine can become leaky. This allows undigested proteins to cross the gut where they can cause an allergic reaction and other health problems.

Babies who are fed a formula based on cow's milk or soy tend to have more allergic reactions than breastfed babies. They don't get the natural layer of protection, so they're more vulnerable to inflammation, allergies, and other eventual health issues.

Maybe the hard men in the chosen areas will discourage their partners from breastfeeding. Everyone's thinking will need adjustment.


Picturewww.deserthillsplasticsurgery.com
Back in the 60s when I breastfed my babies, the 'flower power' era encouraged everything natural. I'd feed them in public under a shawl. Nobody was any the wiser and couldn't take offence. My husband encouraged me to breastfeed and sometimes expressed the wish to indulge himself. I think the desire is fairly normal in a man. He wants to return to the time when he was happiest and recapture that early bond.

With unnatural practices such as breast augmentation, the role of this part of a woman's shape has stepped away from its primary importance. Men admire women with large breasts—for a reason. Large breasts signify lactation.  Yet both sexes seem to have forgotten the primal reason for their infatuation for breasts.


Sophie Bowns link
11/11/2013 07:28:57 pm

If I ever become a Mother, I will breastfeed. There are so many benefits for the Mum and the baby! :)

Francene Stanley link
11/11/2013 09:35:22 pm

Good for you, Sophie.

Nicole LaBonde link
11/11/2013 08:43:32 pm

It does seem like breastfeeding has "fallen out of fashion" and the benefits to child and mother are being ignored.

Francene Stanley link
11/11/2013 09:36:08 pm

You're right. It's a strange state of affairs.

Alesha
11/11/2013 11:29:35 pm

Great post, Francene! Sometimes moms can't breastfeed for extended times, but even if it's for the first few months, it will help.

Francene Stanley link
11/12/2013 02:19:29 am

You're right. Any attempt is better than none for both mother and baby.

Alana link
11/12/2013 09:09:56 am

I breastfed, despite developing an infection in one breast that was quite painful. My mother in law saw the support I received from my husband and the local hospital. She confided in me that she had wanted to breastfeed herself (25 years prior) but had no support whatsoever. Do these women need to work outside the home? I hope they get a lot of support. They are going to need it.

Francene Stanley link
11/12/2013 05:20:37 pm

There is little work available in these deprived areas. Fingers crossed.

Andrea Wisden link
11/14/2013 07:16:55 pm

I know, isn't this a completely mad scheme? I'm sure any mother, if she is able to, will breast feed her baby because we all know that's best for the baby so there's no need to bribe women to do something that's a natural act. What about those women who can't breast feed for one reason and another. I'm sure they feel bad enough about it without being punished by not being rewarded. And how is it going to be monitored? Are mothers going to be taken at their word that they are breast feeding their baby, or are there going to be milk monitors on some sort of inspection round? I shudder to think. I'm embarrassed to be English when I read about this sort of nonsense. If the thinking behind it is education and providing help for struggling mothers, then given them the money and talk to them about the benefits of breast feeding. Policies like this are not only ridiculous, but they are disempowering and insulting to all women.

Francene Stanley link
11/14/2013 07:45:08 pm

I agree with you completely, Andrea. The whole thing is mad. Governments should stay out of making policies about women should and should not do about their own bodies. Although I understand their motivation.


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    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

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