World Health Organisation Essay Example
World Health Organisation Essay Example

World Health Organisation Essay Example

Available Only on StudyHippo
  • Pages: 4 (1043 words)
  • Published: September 15, 2017
  • Type: Essay
View Entire Sample
Text preview

The focus of this essay is on the reasons behind the decision of women not to breastfeed their infants, as well as the comparatively low rates of breastfeeding in the UK.

The definition of health presented by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in 1948 describes it as a state comprising physical, mental, and social wellbeing, rather than simply being the lack of disease or weakness. This definition was a significant advancement at the time, encompassing multiple domains and moving away from health being defined negatively. However, some may argue that the WHO's emphasis on complete physical wellbeing unintentionally implies that achieving complete health would be challenging for most individuals. Additionally, the way people approach health can vary based on their cultural background, surroundings, religion, or age group.

Considering all aspects, health encompasses physical, emotional, intellectual and social factors. The definition of health v

...

aries positively, negatively and holistically based on individual perspectives and priorities. Lifestyle factors, such as occupation, location of residence, food consumption, and social connections affect our state of health significantly. Despite women's remarkable capacity to produce breast milk from time immemorial, as the less privileged gender, not all can breastfeed for various reasons. Concerns like medication intake, HIV transmission through milk, breastfeeding discomfort, alcoholism and drug addiction, inverted or large nipples, peer influence, tongue tie issues and breast reduction or implants impede one's ability or willingness to breastfeed.

Breastfeeding is not widely accepted in public, whereas in many Asian/African countries it is considered a normal part of everyday life, despite the sexual associations with fully-exposed female breasts. One reason why some mothers don't breastfeed is the pressure from their husband/partner not to expos

View entire sample
Join StudyHippo to see entire essay

their breasts to others. However, breasts are designed to produce milk for babies, not for sexual pleasure. Some women may feel uncomfortable breastfeeding in public, while others may find that mother and baby facilities are unclean or lacking in necessary equipment.

Although some new mothers choose to stay home to avoid breastfeeding in public, this can lead to social isolation and body shape anxiety, with potential lack of support for men. However, the perceived benefit of weight loss through breastfeeding may make it more appealing. Despite this, breastfeeding has multiple advantages for both mother and baby as breast milk contains vital nutrients such as fat, sugar, water and protein that are essential for healthy growth and development. Furthermore, on average 500 calories per day are burned whilst breastfeeding which can aid postpartum weight loss and potentially protect against breast cancer.

Breastfeeding reduces the likelihood of infants developing various health problems, including but not limited to diarrhoea and chest infections, atopic dermatitis and asthma, obesity, type 1 diabetes as well as type 2 diabetes.

Although infants can experience health problems such as SIDS, childhood leukemia, and necrotizing enterocolitis, these issues may be addressed by offering health benefits that can enhance their IQ.

Substance consumption, such as smoking, alcohol, caffeine, marijuana, heroine and methadone can negatively impact the quality of a mother's breast milk. This can lead to lower cholesterol levels and decreased incidence of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, allergies and Crohn's disease3. However, only a small percentage of pregnant and breastfeeding mothers consume these substances. Breastfeeding is crucial for an infant's growth and development; therefore parents who use drugs should understand how it affects their baby and lactation. Informed

decisions that benefit everyone should also take into account how artificial formula affects both mother and baby.

Breastfeeding may present challenges for mothers struggling with addiction. While breastfeeding has been a natural process since the dawn of time, it remains a difficult task for society's most impoverished and powerless members. The question arises as to why less affluent mothers are more likely to breastfeed than their more well-off counterparts, possibly due to socioeconomic factors. Artificial milk manufacturers' aggressive marketing strategies promoting formula can create significant barriers to breastfeeding, convincing people that formula is a superior alternative. If corporations could produce an inexpensive product resembling breast milk capable of preventing and curing diseases, its stock market position would skyrocket – hence the baby food industry projected over £10 billion annually by 2010 worldwide with two-thirds stemming from formula sales alone; Europe accounts for around £1 billion in revenue from such products.

Despite evidence indicating the advantages of breastfeeding, there remains a prevalent promotion of artificial food due to the financial profit focus. This enriches companies, advertising agencies, and governments. Rather than this approach, efforts should be made to encourage breastfeeding by providing information to mothers and discouraging formula purchases. Healthcare professionals have been identified as a significant contributor to low rates and duration of breastfeeding because of inaccurate advice- even doctors are guilty. Comparatively, many African and Asian women prioritize breastfeeding over malnutrition-induced suffering since it is natural and free. If more emphasis was placed on educating mothers about the benefits of nursing their infants, artificial formulae and costly gadgets could be avoided altogether. Impoverished individuals lack access to television advertisements promoting baby formulae and cannot afford bottles

and milk for artificial feeding; hence they rely on resources at hand through breast milk.

Between 2005 and 2010, the UK experienced an increase in initial breastfeeding rates from 76% to 81%. This includes all instances where the child was put to the breast or given expressed breastmilk. Breastfeeding rates were notably higher for mothers aged over 30, those from minority ethnic groups (with some groups reaching rates as high as 97%), those who completed their education after age 18, those in professional occupations, and those living in less deprived areas. Despite the potential benefits of breastfeeding for reducing health inequalities, barriers still exist that discourage or lead mothers to stop early according to a survey conducted by NHS in 2010.

It is important for healthcare professionals to recognize and assist mothers in overcoming societal obstacles related to breastfeeding. Consistent knowledge must be provided, as emphasized by Maria Pollard, in order to successfully manage these challenges. Both healthcare professionals and mothers have access to an abundance of information regarding breastfeeding, and it is crucial that they utilize this information and acknowledge its importance. NHS statistics on breastfeeding show a rise in numbers compared to 2005, indicating that mothers may be becoming more informed. The hope is that this trend will lead to higher IQs amongst children and fewer cases of obesity.

Get an explanation on any task
Get unstuck with the help of our AI assistant in seconds
New