Julia Clayton
Chapter 11 Section 3 Childbirth and Parenthood
Question 2: Watch the “Breastfeeding…at 8” documentary clip on YouTube. Write a short reflection on your reactions and attitudes toward breast-feeding.
Breastfeeding has many benefits for the first several months during infancy. Neither experts nor culture agree, on whether breast-feeding has any benefit over formula after six months. In the documentary, " Breast-feeding... at 8..", the mother, Veronica Robinson, provides her 5 year old and 7 year old daughters with natural nourishment. The intriguing and controversial aspect of this video is the ages of her daughters. When I first saw the video I was shocked and speechless. As a woman, I feel that if my infant was hungry, I should
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Researchers are trying to examine whether or not extended breastfeeding has a positive long-term effect on IQ scores. In other countries they may not have knowledge that extended breastfeeding could positively or negatively psychologically affect an individual, and may just consider it as natural. As Veronica Robinson stated in the documentary, it was a form of comfort or a "safe haven” for her daughters.
The nurturing aspect of motherhood plays a major role in breast-feeding.
The point at which a child stops being breast-fed is typically a choice made by the mother
It is ideal that after 6-months a child should start to transition to other foods that provide adequate nutrition for proper growth.
By replacing breast-milk with other energy and proteins to help grow a healthy baby, the child also learns to depend on itself for survival.
If a parent does provide a child with "exclusive breast-feeding", the child could potentially be vulnerable to malnourishment, if and when, a parent decides to completely stop. The child then has already been attached and dependent on the mother’s milk, therefore lacking knowledge on how to properly nourish itself without breast