Article Link: http://exchangepress.com/article/breastfeeding-promotion-in-child-care/5014546/
Twenty years ago, I was a recent college graduate who had just opened up a new child care center in Libertyville, Illinois. A parent who enrolled her daughter in our infant room asked if she could come to the center on her lunch hour to breastfeed. It didn't occur to me that I was promoting the health of that infant and her mother, strengthening the bond between them, or easing the mother's transition back to work - I was simply accommodating a parental request. Since then, public awareness about breastfeeding has increased, and most of us recognize that breastfeeding is widely recommended for virtually all infants because of its numerous advantages over alternative feedings.What We Know
Research shows that human milk or breastmilk, with its unique mixture of fatty acids, lactose, amino acids, vitamins, minerals, enzymes, and other components necessary for digestion, brain development, and growth provides the most natural and beneficial first food. Breastmilk both nourishes babies and protects them from getting sick.
Exclusive breastfeeding is ideal nutrition and sufficient to support the optimal growth and development of infants until they are approximately six months old. Continued breastfeeding is recommended throughout the baby's first year and thereafter as long as is mutually ...