Breastfeeding in Uganda

I choose to discuss breastfeeding and the importance of it. I wanted to discuss this topic because I did breastfeed my three children, but it came with a great deal of compromising on my part. I breastfed my oldest son for 6 months, but he had chronic ear infections and was always sick. We lived in Washington State and this climate is hazardous for asthma. My oldest son had difficulty sucking because his nose was always clogged and his ears hurt when he did suck. I stopped nursing and had to use bottles and formula, the struggle of this made me worry and stress. In turn my milk supply started to run short. My next two children were very sensitive to what I ate and had very upset stomachs. A lot of crying, I nursed them for about 4 months. I felt that the bonding and nursing was best for my children, and buying formula was very expensive for my family. I did have wic for my children and I was very thankful for that. I feel that every mother should try to nurse and provide the proper nourishment for their infants. Sometimes it just doesn’t workout, but sometimes it does. I found out that the women in Uganda are highly recommended to nurse for at least 6 months. The UNICEF foundation and WHO recommend this because so many “germs and therefore infection, decreases the frequency with which the baby suckles and therefore decreases the production of breast milk and the supplementary foods are usually nutritionally inferior to breast milk.” (Namubiru, 2009) The mothers in Uganda are supplementing other foods with their breast milk and this in turn hinders the growth and weight gain for the children. Some mothers supplement with cow’s milk, sugar water, juices, and water. This is not a nutritional substitute for breast milk. After six months nutritionists recommend that babies be give two or three meals a day in addition to breast milk. (Namubiru, 2009)) Mothers cannot afford to supplement nutritional food and revert to porage and water. Mothers “lack of knowledge, poverty and social cultural beliefs” affect the nutritional outcome of infants too.(Namubiru, 2009) Uganda mothers feed their husbands first and the infants are given very little and are expected to eat what they are given; without the mother actually feeding it to them or making sure they ate it on their own. “Indicators of poor feeding habits in Ugandan children rise steadily from the age of six months, peaked at about 9-11 months and remain high afterwards. Between 10 -20% of babies in the weaning ages 6-23 months are either too short for their age, too light for their age or height.” (Namubiru, 2009) Large efforts are being done to teach good feeding habits to Uganda mothers and with the continued progress and resources enough households can be reached. I think this article has a true reflection of how the home environment and culture of the home affects the overall development of the children. Without the proper nutrition children are not able to thrive and grow in ways that increases their overall development. This is also true in the United States as well. Some parents do not know or understand what it means to provide nutritional food to their children. Parents sometimes do not understand that the right foods are necessary for their children to grow and develop. Breastfeeding is one way to feed an infant that does not cost the mother any money. However, it does take time and dedication to do; this is where mothers sometimes find it unaccommodating. We have to help those parents that don’t understand the importance of proper nutrition and breastfeeding. We want all children to have the proper nutrition, this is why we have the USDA in the United States and why federally and state funded daycares and preschools adhere to USDA guidelines and regulations. I feel this can be used in my future teaching my discussing healthy foods during meal times and discussing where our food comes from and why it is healthy. We need to start educating our children on proper nutrition and good eating habits, then maybe the children can teach their parents. Reference Namubiru,L.(2009)Breastfeeding is a grey area for Ugandan mothers.Retrieved from: http://www.newvision.co.ug/D/8/12/689814