Children's vaccinations are essential for ensuring their survival and development. Over the past eighty years, vaccines have been instrumental in shielding kids and teenagers from severe, potentially deadly diseases.
No proof exists anywhere that their extensive use to safeguard youth has resulted in unintended consequences or contributed to lowering birth rates.
This situation contradicts the ongoing efforts of anti-vaccine activists, those who reject vaccines, and advocates of vaccination reluctance in various regions.
Since the discovery of the six major childhood illnesses over half a century ago, numerous nations have implemented extensive vaccination programs to protect their children.
These illnesses consist of tuberculosis, pertussis (commonly known as whooping cough), poliomyelitis (often referred to as polio), tetanus, diphtheria, and measles. In recent three decades, new entries have been added to this list, now encompassing mumps, hepatitis, rubella, and cervical cancer.
Additionally, numerous COVID-19 vaccines were rapidly deployed during the peak of the outbreak.
Over just the past half-century, vaccinations have been responsible for saving approximately 154 million lives, which equals about six individuals per minute over fifty years.
Therefore, we have achieved remarkable advancements together. By getting vaccinated, you contribute to safeguarding others against the transmission of illness, similar to how they shield you through the concept of community immunity.
We can realise a future free from diseases like polio, cervical cancer and measles; a future where no child dies from illnesses that we know how to prevent. Added to this massive empowerment is the insistence on breastmilk for babies, especially in the first six months of life.
Breast milk serves as the ideal nourishment for infants, offering full nutritional value along with inherent safety, cleanliness, and immediate readiness for feeding without requiring any additional work. In regions where water supply or hygiene conditions may not be optimal, the presence and standard of breast milk can typically be relied upon.
Initiating breastfeed immediately following delivery via skin-to-skin contact assists infants in maintaining body temperature, enhances their immunity, fosters a stronger connection between mother and child, and supports increased milk production over extended durations.
In addition to offering nourishment, breastmilk functions as an effective medication specifically tailored to meet each infant's requirements. The initial milk, known as colostrum, contains high levels of antibodies that help prevent illness and mortality.
Naturally shielded against harmful germs and tainted food sources that may lead to diarrhea and malnutrition, breastfed infants benefit significantly, highlighting the crucial role of nursing during times when such dangers increase.
Studies show that breastfed babies get fewer ear infections, experience less diarrhoea, and are less likely to develop pneumonia and other common childhood illnesses.
When mothers fall ill, their bodies automatically create antibodies in their breastmilk to fight the infection, which then protects their babies from the same illness.
This creates what experts call “the most personalised form of medicine”, one that adapts uniquely to each baby’s health needs and environment. It has been noted, and consequently well documented, that even in places where women have faced starvation, dehydration and civil upheaval, the overall quality of breastmilk has remained consistently uniform.
Some groundbreaking research conducted in rhesus macaque mothers showed that they produced completely different milk depending on whether they had given birth to sons or daughters.
Male offspring were provided with milk containing greater amounts of fat and protein, resulting in higher energy content per gram and promoting swift growth. Female offspring received bigger quantities of milk rich in calcium, thought to be designed for accelerated bone development. This biological formula varied; it was tailored accordingly.
A leading figure in this area, Katie Hinde, examined milk from more than 250 rhesus macaque mothers through over 700 samples. Each finding brought greater clarity and remarkable insights.
For instance, young and inexperienced female monkeys generated milk containing fewer calories yet significantly elevated amounts of cortisol, the stress hormone. A comparable trend is believed to occur in humans, who have numerous genetic parallels with these primates.
Infants that drank this cortisol-rich milk experienced quicker growth but exhibited higher levels of anxiety, greater alertness, and reduced self-assurance.
The milk was not just feeding the baby’s body; it was programming the baby’s temperament. She concluded that milk was not just food; it was a message. Therefore, young mothers who nurtured their pregnancies in high-tension environments, secreting high levels of cortisol, often gave birth to children with a higher tendency towards crime and violence.
For decades, science treated breastmilk like fuel, a simple delivery system for calories, proteins and fats. But if milk was just nutrition, why did it differ based on the baby’s sex?
Why would mothers unconsciously adjust the formula? Breastfeeding is also cost-effective and reduces the financial burden on families and health systems, while having a minimal environmental footprint compared to formula production, which involves industrial processing, packaging and transportation.
The practice of feeding an infant with only breastmilk for the first six months of life, without any additional food or drink, not even water, alongside adherence to prescribed immunisation protocols, serves to further positive health outcomes for children everywhere.
In several nations, recent developments have demonstrated that reduced attention to vaccination monitoring and a return to bottle-feeding practices have resulted in the reappearance of certain previously rare contagious illnesses.
Baby milk manufacturers and suppliers have poured significant efforts, such as strong advertising campaigns, into shifting the view of infant formula from being a specific nutrition needed for babies who aren't nursed to becoming seen as a suitable alternative for all infants.
Nevertheless, formula presents considerable dangers that breastmilk does not. Breastmilk contains live cells, hormones, and immune-boosting substances that formula lacks. Introducing formula or other drinks and solid foods may change the composition of good bacteria in a child's gut.
Another potential danger comes from non-breastmilk feeds, especially when they use contaminated water or honey, which can put fragile newborns at risk of dangerous germs.
On the contrary, breast milk is inherently secure and provides a wide range of vitamins, nutrients, and enzymes that support development, along with antibodies and healthy microorganisms that protect kids from illnesses.
Moreover, when additional food or drinks are introduced, they take up essential space in the baby's tiny stomach, reducing the amount of breastmilk that can be consumed and thus limiting full nutritional intake.
When a baby gets sick, small amounts of saliva travel back through the nipple during nursing into the mother’s breast tissue. That saliva contains information about the baby’s immune status.
If the baby is fighting an infection, the mother’s body detects the antigens and begins producing specific antibodies, which then flow back to the baby through the milk within hours.
The number of white blood cells in milk may increase from 2,000 cells per milliliter to more than 5,000 when an infection occurs. Macrophages, which are immune cells responsible for eliminating bacteria, cancerous cells, and other dangerous materials, can multiply up to four times their usual amount.
After the infant regains health, all things go back to usual. It is an exchange: the baby's body expresses its requirements, and the mother's body reacts accordingly.
The very first food in the world, breast milk, which has provided sustenance to all humans throughout history, hasn't received as much scientific attention as conditions like erectile dysfunction, for instance.
However, this surge in research has shown that what science previously considered basic nourishment is truly the most complex biological communication network on the planet.
Research conducted by Katie Hinde further shows that the earliest type of sustenance is also the smartest one: an interactive, adaptive exchange that has influenced human evolution from the start of history.
Further investigation revealed variations in breast milk throughout the day, with the highest levels of fat content occurring around mid-morning. Each mother's milk is distinct, much like a fingerprint; no two mothers have exactly the same milk composition, and no two infants receive precisely the same nutritional benefits.
Foremilk varies from hindmilk, with infants who breastfeed for extended periods obtaining richer fat content toward the conclusion of each feeding. Over 200 types of oligosaccharides are present in human milk, compounds that babies are unable to break down.
Their purpose is exclusively to nourish helpful microorganisms in the digestive system and stop damaging germs from taking hold in the baby's intestines.
The conclusion is therefore easy to draw: babies who are breastfed and immunised as recommended often enjoy better overall health than those who miss either one or both of these twin protections.
This remains accurate even for infants who lose their mothers during birth and rely entirely on the kindness of wet nurses to stay alive.
Supplied by SyndiGate Media Inc. ( Syndigate.info ).
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