Nursing Midwifery Commons^™

Maine's Breastfeeding Gap: How Initiation And Duration Differ By Socioeconomic Status, Zoe Miller

Thinking Matters Symposium Archive

The preventive health benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and children are widely recognized. Leading health authorities recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.

Though breastfeeding rates in the United States have been increasing for the past decade, significant disparities continue across race and socioeconomic status.

The Benefits Of Breastfeeding, Helen L. Byers

Senior Honors Theses

It is important to educate women of childbearing age, their families, and society of the benefits that breastfeeding has over bottle-feeding and formula-feeding. The benefits of breastfeeding are in three main categories. First, the developmental, physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits of the baby will be discussed. Then the physical, emotional, and spiritual benefits for the mother will be talked about along with possible contraindications or difficulties. Finally, the financial benefits of breastfeeding over feeding an infant from the bottle will be discussed as it relates to the family and government. The goal is to persuade that breastfeeding is a superior …

Don’T Diss The Reninjaza: A Case For Integrating Traditional Birthing Attendants Into The Allopathic System To Improve Prenatal Health In Rural Madagascar, Shenna Bannish

Independent Study Project (ISP) Collection

This project seeks to prove the practicality of using Reninjazas (traditional birthing attendants) in rural Madagascar to better prenatal care and diminish the maternal and infant mortality rates in this country. Prenatal care is of vital importance to expecting mothers. Without it, birth defects, complicated labor and delivery, miscommunications concerning fetal development, and even death can occur (Mayo Clinic, 2014). There is no doubt that the lack of adequate prenatal care in Madagascar contributes to its unfortunately high maternal and infant death statistics. While listed as “moderate” in terms of severity, the maternal and infant mortality rates in Madagascar are …

The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, Kathryn E. Brackett

Senior Honors Theses

Abstract

The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) is a worldwide movement started by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) that is aimed at providing hospitals with a certification that guarantees the best possible patient-centered care for mothers and infants. It focuses on breastfeeding as optimal infant nutrition, and implements strategies to encourage and support mothers to breastfeed their infants exclusively for six months after birth. The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding are a set of 10 simple, easy to understand guidelines developed by WHO and UNICEF for implementing this initiative in the hospital setting and …

Made To Fit A Woman: Riding Uniforms Of The Frontier Nursing Service, Donna C. Parker

SCL Faculty and Staff Publications

The riding uniform of the Frontier Nursing Service (FNS) conveyed a powerful image of the nurse-midwife as authority figure and professional. In the eastern Kentucky mountains the FNS nurse brought desperately needed health care to the people. Their distinctive, horizon-blue uniform provided instant recognition, and therefore protection, to the nurse-midwife who relied on local residents for help. The sensible, military-styled uniform reinforced the nurse’s authority and reassured patients of receiving expert care. The dress unified staff working towards a common goal making them feel like a family and team. Wearing her uniform proudly, the properly attired nurse represented the high …