BREAST FEEDING

Attitudes towards breast feeding 18-25 years women

Attitudes towards breast feeding 18-25 years women

Background of the Study

The meaning of breast-feeding can range from “breast milk only” to “at least one episode of breast-feeding” (Labbok & Coffin, 1997). This makes the comparison over studies arduous. In 1988, the ad hoc Interagency Group for Action on Breast-feeding (IGAB) developed a set of definitions that could be used as standardized terminology for breast-feeding behaviour.

According to the IGAB, breast-feeding behaviour is divided into three categories: full, partial, and token. Full breast-feeding includes two terms: exclusive and almost exclusive breast-feeding. No other liquids or solids are given to the infant in exclusive breast-feeding, but vitamins and water are allowed in almost exclusive breast-feeding. Partial breast-feeding involves three levels of substantial feeding: high (nearly all feeds are breast-feeds); medium (about half are breast-feeds); and low (almost none are breast-feeds). Token breast-feeding refers to the use of breasts as child comfort rather than major nutritive purposes. The World Health Organization (WHO) (1991) defines exclusive breastfeeding similarly to the IGAB, but combines the two sub-categories of exclusive and almost exclusive breast-feeding. Thus exclusive breast-feeding means that the infant receives only breast milk or expressed breasts milk and no other liquids or solids with the exception of drops of syrups consisting of vitamins, mineral supplements or medicines.

In predominant breast-feeding, the WHO equivalent to IGAB's partial breast-feeding, the infant's prominent source of nourishment is breast milk. However, water and water-based drinks (sweetened and flavoured water, teas, infusions, etc.), fruit juice, oral dehydration salts solution, drop and syrup forms of vitamins, minerals and medicines, as well as ritual fluids (in limited quantities) are allowed in predominant breast-feeding, with the exception of food-based fluid. The WHO definition does not have a token breast-feeding category.

Research Question

To analyze the attitude of breast feeding in women aged 18 to 25 years.

Literature Review

A mother has to simultaneously encounter two of life's stressful role transitions: adolescence and parenthood. The enormous stress of these multiple role transitions has the potential to burden available resources so that it leads to role insufficiency, or difficulty in performing roles. Several investigators consistently reported that young mothers are less likely to interact with their infants, are insensitive to the infants' cues and needs, and more likely to use physical punishment.

Furthermore, children of young mothers are more likely to score lower on intelligence quotient tests than are children of older mothers (Gabel, 1988). In a longitudinal study, there were problems of grade failure, emotional misbehaviour, drug use, and early sexual activity in the children of young mothers.

They still have much concern about their own needs and physical appearance. Several reasons for not breast-feeding are related to this matter. For example, Radius and Joffe (1988) found that young mothers who intended to formula-feed felt that breastfeeding would make them feel rundown and make their breasts ugly. Breast-feeding was seen as something that ties down the mother by choosing bottle-feeding. Most mothers who decided to formula feed their babies perceived the ...