Nutrition is the most important aspect of care of a newborn and the infant, and breast milk is best suited for this purpose. Breast feeding is extremely important for physiological as well as emotional wellbeing of the infant and the mother.
Breast milk is an unique combination of essential proteins, fats, milk sugar, calcium, iron and vitamin D. Breast milk is special because it carries immunoglobulins and IgA from the mother, which provide immunity to the infant against number of life threatening infections. It also protects the child in future from chronic allergic and infective illnesses. Breast feeding allows the mother and the child to bond emotionally. Breast feeding helps the mother to return to pre pregnancy state, ensures emotional wellbeing and provides natural contraception in a few cases.
Although of paramount importance, breast feeding is a challenge to many. Right from psychological factors to physical ones, many difficulties may arise in the process of breast feeding.
Inexperience, irritability, anxiety or post partum depression in the mother, lack of or absent breast milk, altered taste of the milk, cracked or inverted nipples, mastitis and breast abscess are some of the maternal factors which hinder breast feeding. Similarly, prematurity, ineffective sucking, intolerance of milk, diarrhoea, oral thrush are some of the infant factors which affect breast feeding. Breast feeding is contraindicated in certain infective illnesses of the mother.
Homoeopathy offers excellent remedies for all the conditions hindering effective breast feeding. Homoeopathy is fast, gentle and has no adverse effects, hence can be administered safely to the mother and the baby. Homeopathic medicines are not secreted in the breast milk and hence, do not cause any toxic effects on the suckling .SaccharumLactis, a homeopathic preparation which is extracted from milk, can be used as an alternative nutrition for babies who are not nursed or in whom breast feeding is contraindicated. Hence homoeopathy is undoubtedly the best modality of treatment in problems of breast feeding.
Dr. Navin Pawaskar,
Director,
JIMS Healthcare.
