Breastfeeding: Health benefits and dietary recommendations

Abstract

Breastfeeding is a natural way of feeding a newborn as it provides all the essential nutrients necessary for appropriate growth and development. Also, it is a delicate period when the emotional and physical connection between mother and child is created, providing the child with a sense ofsecurity, relaxation, and tenderness. Under that, the devotion of institutions and various associations to raise social and health awareness and promote the importance of breastfeeding is constantly increasing. World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of an infant’s life, which provides the child many short- and long-term benefits. When talking about benefits, the emphasis is put primarily on the wellbeing of the child, while the focus on the needs of a nursing mother should be of equal importance. The period of lactation and breastfeeding demands the mother’s greater energy intake than the period of the last three-semester of pregnancy to meet all micro- and macronutrient needs of mother and child. The volume and the composition of milk, respectively the quality of infant’s nutrition, partially depends on the quality of the mother’s nutrition, and partially on the mother’s physical supplies from which nutrients are being compensated in the case of a dietary deficit. To avoid the negative effects of lactation and breastfeeding on the nutritional and health status of the mother in upcoming periods of life, it is crucial to give special attention to various, balanced, and energy-satisfying nutrition. Although the primary goal is to achieve the recommended intake of all essential nutrients by food intake, in cases of unbalanced nutrition, health limitations, or practicing restrictive diets, the use of dietary supplementation is needed. Because of the biological needs and fortified deficits, in dietary supplements for pregnant women could often be found iron, calcium, zinc, iodine, folate, and vitamins B12, C and D.Dojenje je prirodan način hranjenja novorođenčeta jer mu pruža sve neophodne hranjive tvari potrebne za odgovarajući rast i razvoj. Također, dojenje je osjetljivo razdoblje kada se stvara emocionalna i tjelesna veza između majke i djeteta, pružajući djetetu osjećaj sigurnosti, opuštenosti i nježnosti. U skladu s navedenim, posvećenost institucija i raznih udruga za podizanje društvene i zdravstvene svijesti te promicanje važnosti dojenja neprestano rastu. Svjetska zdravstvena organizacija (SZO) preporučuje isključivo dojenje tijekom prvih šest mjeseci djetetovog života, što djetetu pruža brojne kratkoročne i dugoročne koristi. Kada se govori o koristima dojenja, naglasak se stavlja prvenstveno na dobrobit djeteta, dok bi potrebe dojilja trebale biti od jednake važnosti. Razdoblje laktacije i dojenja zahtijeva veći majčin energijski unos u usporedbi s razdobljem posljednjeg tromjesečja trudnoće kako bi se zadovoljile sve potrebe majke i djeteta za mikro- i makronutrijentima. Količina i sastav mlijeka, odnosno kvaliteta prehrane dojenčeta, dijelom ovisi o kvaliteti majčine prehrane, a dijelom o majčinim tjelesnim zalihama iz kojih se nadoknađuju hranjive tvari u slučaju nedovoljnog prehrambenog unosa. Kako bi se izbjegli negativni učinci laktacije i dojenja na prehrambeni i zdravstveni status majke u nadolazećim životnim razdobljima, presudno je posvetiti posebnu pozornost raznovrsnoj, uravnoteženoj i energijski zadovoljavajućoj prehrani. Iako je primarni cilj postići preporučeni unos svih esencijalnih hranjivih sastojaka prehranom, u slučajevima neuravnotežene prehrane, zdravstvenih problema ili prakticiranja restriktivne dijete, potrebna je primjena dodataka prehrani. Zbog povećanih bioloških potreba i utvrđenih deficita, u dodacima prehrani za trudnice često se mogu naći željezo, kalcij, cink, jod, folat te vitamini B12, C i D.