According to Merriam-Webster (2015), culture can be defined as “the integrated pattern of human knowledge, belief, and behavior that depends upon the capacity for learning and transmitting knowledge to succeeding generations.” Specifically, throughout this study, I looked at the breastfeeding support within my own country (the United States) and culture. I then compared it to the culture of four varying countries. Merriam-Webster (2015) also defined culture as, “the customary beliefs, social forms, and material traits of a racial, religious, or social group, the characteristic features of everyday existence (as diversions or a way of life) shared by people in a place or time, and the set of shared attitudes, values, goals, and practices that characterizes an institution or organization.” Therefore, in regards to this research, breastfeeding itself, is specifically the standard for culture. The diverse attitudes to breastfeeding that are initiated among and inside civilizations are mainly created on culture rather than on individual opinions and differences (Bergey & Kaplan, 2010).
Within each
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I have found this to be true in my own work with breastfeeding women. Though given the recommendations and educated on proper nutrition for infants, many women I have worked with still chose to give their infant(s) formula. According to United Nation’s International Children’s Emergency Fund’s (UNICEF) State of the World's Children Report 2011, of the 136.7 million infants that are born worldwide each year, only 32.6 percent are breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months. This is because some mothers simply choose not to breastfeed. However, this is also because others cannot do so due to circumstances such as medical conditions, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), or other reasons, such as problems with milk supply (UNICEF,