Discuss the CDC breastfeeding initiative and describe how you will support this when interacting with your pregnant and postpartum women in the primary care setting.
Peer Resp#1
Our bodies are amazing at what they do, there’s no way to fully replace what the body does naturally. That is why organ donation is such a great gift and why we should use our bodies to the fullest in every aspect of life and respect the wonderful life we’ve been given. Breastfeeding is the most essential, dynamic and profitable way of providing an infant with the nutrients they need as they enter the world outside of the womb (Farhan, Das & Malik, 2018).
Not only does breastfeeding benefit the infant, but it has important consequences for the mother as well. Breastfeeding can lower the risk for certain cancers including breast and ovarian as well as decrease the risk of developing type 2 diabetes (Grummer-Strawn et al., 2013). The CDC has started many initiatives to ensure that mothers in the United states have adequate access to lactation services and understand the best way to nourish their newborn. That being said, there are still many mothers who are unable to breastfeed but there is hope for those who desire to have breastmilk for their baby. Donor breastmilk is the milk of choice when a mother’s own milk is not available. Research clearly demonstrates that human milk decreases the rates of pediatric infections such as necrotizing Enterocolitis (NEC) and sepsis (Coutsoudis et al., 2011).
Encouraging mothers to research the benefits of breastfeeding and educating as the mother and family as they are willing is the goal of the nurse practitioner. Ultimately, it is the choice of the mother to partake in breastfeeding, but proper education and encouragement should be offered for new parents.
Peer Response#2
The CDC is currently on a mission to improve the breastfeeding in the nation by current, new, and prospective mothers. Nowadays the CDC is actively promoting and engaging with new and potential mothers and well as past mothers to gather information regarding their pregnancies, determining thoughts and practices and how to move forward with the promotion of breastfeeding (CDC, 2018). From years 2011 to 2015, the CDC has been conducting a study to determine the difference in breastfeeding by demographic variables, which provided them with information regarding cultures and areas where improvement could be made, and where their advocacy needed to be expanded and promoted. These areas have gained additional promotion regarding health benefits for both mom and baby, as well as the advantage of a cheaper alternative to formula (Anstey et al., 2017). A variety of issues with moms were discovered in these areas concerning breastfeeding and its practice. Some of these new moms are unsure of breastfeeding and unfamiliar with the method. Some of the moms are interested in breastfeeding but then revert to formula.
The CDC has adopted the ten breastfeeding steps that are being successfully implemented by the WHO and UNICEF organizations; and has been used for promotion throughout hospitals and a variety of healthcare settings as a tool to promote and to make breastfeeding a successful and healthy experience for mom and baby (Sriraman, 2017). This promotion could be critical as many mothers would attempt to breastfeed their baby as well. This guide and assistance gives new moms information and a guideline to help their newborns attach. They could also meet with a support team that assists them and has the specialized experience to encourage and teach the mom with the proper practice of breastfeeding.
As practitioner one should encourage a mother to breastfeed if possible, because of the significant benefits of it, such as the decrease chance of the baby of having an allergy to the mother’s breast milk. However, there could be contraindications to breastfeeding that must be looked at as well. According to the CDC (2018), a mother who is addicted or who has a disease should not breastfeed, such as a mother with HIV because the disease or drug could pass to the baby through the breast milk.
