Non-maternal nursing in the muslim community: A health perspective review

Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine Position Statement: Breastfeeding in Emergencies

Background: During emergencies, including natural disasters and armed conflict, breastfeeding is critically important. Breastfeeding provides reliable nutrition and protection against infectious diseases, without the need for clean water, feeding implements, electricity, or external supplies. Key Information: Protection, promotion, and support of breastfeeding should be an integral part of all emergency preparedness plans. Breastfeeding specialists should be part of plan development. Emergency protocols should include breastfeeding specialists among emergency relief personnel, provide culturally sensitive environments for breastfeeding, and prioritize caregivers of infants in food/water distribution. Emergency relief personnel should be aware that dehydration and missed feedings can impact milk production, but stress alone does not. Emergency support should focus on keeping mothers and infants together and providing private and/or protected spaces for mothers to breastfeed or express milk. Emergency support should also focus on rapidly identifying mothers with breastfeeding difficulties and breastfeeding mothers and infants who are separated, so their needs can be prioritized. Breastfeeding support should be available to all women experiencing difficulties, including those needing reassurance. Nonbreastfed infants should be identified as a priority group requiring support. Relactation, wet-nursing, and donor milk should be considered for nonbreastfed infants. No donations of commercial milk formula (CMF), feeding bottles or teats, or breast pumps should be accepted in emergencies. The distribution of CMF must be highly controlled, provided only when infants cannot be breastfed and accompanied by a comprehensive package of support. Recommendations: Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding should be included in all emergency preparedness planning and in training of personnel.

Motivators and barriers to the acceptability of a human milk bank among Malaysians

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that all babies be exclusively breastfed, stating that donor milk is the next best alternative in the absence of the mother's own milk. Milk sharing takes many forms, namely wet nursing, co-feeding, cross-feeding, and a human milk bank (HMB). However, the establishment of a human milk bank is still not widely accepted and is a debatable topic because of religious concerns in Malaysia. The aim of this study is to determine the facilitators and barriers among Malaysians towards the acceptance of an HMB. A cross-sectional study with 367 participants was conducted; the participants answered an online-validated, self-administered questionnaire. Data on sociodemographic, knowledge on breastfeeding benefits, knowledge and attitude on HMB-specific issues were analysed in terms of frequency before proceeded with multiple logistic regression. The majority of the respondents were Muslim (73.3%), had completed their tertiary education (82.8%), and were employed (70.8%). Only 55.9% of respondents had heard of HMB, stating the internet as their main source of information, but many respondents were agreeable to its establishment (67.8%). Most respondents had a good score on knowledge of breastfeeding benefits and on HMB-specific issues (70% and 54.2%, respectively), while 63.8% had a positive attitude towards HMB. In the multivariate analysis, mothers with a good score on general knowledge of breastfeeding (AOR: 1.715; 95% CI 1.047-2.808) were more likely to accept the establishment of HMB, while being a Muslim was negatively associated with its establishment (AOR = 0.113, 95% CI 0.050-0.253). The study found a high prevalence of mothers who were willing to accept the establishment of HMB. By educating mothers on the benefits of breastfeeding, as well as addressing their religious concerns, the establishment of a religiously abiding HMB in Malaysia may be accepted without compromising their beliefs or the health benefit of donor milk.

Facilitators and Barriers of Wet Nursing from Antiquity to the Present: A Narrative Review with Implications for Emergencies

Background: If maternal breastfeeding is not possible, wet nursing allows infants to receive the nutrition and protection against disease that breastfeeding provides. Such protection may be particularly valuable in emergencies. However, while wet nursing is recommended in the Operational Guidance on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Emergencies it is underutilized. This narrative review aimed to develop an understanding of wet nursing practice across time and location, and why wet nursing is currently so little supported to inform interventions to support wet nursing in emergencies. Method: Medline and Embase were searched for "wet nursing," "cross-nursing," "shared breastfeeding," and "non-maternal nursing". Included articles were inductively analyzed to identify positive and negative factors associated with previous wet nursing practice. Results: This review included 74 records. Our analysis of the wet nursing literature includes historical and contemporary themes with milk kinship and wet nursing as risky being shared themes across time periods. Our analysis revealed that it is how wet nursing is undertaken that influences whether it benefits women, children, and societies or not. Facilitators and barriers to wet nursing in emergencies related to infant mortality rates, cultural and individual support for wet nursing, availability of wet nurses, and resources to support wet nursing. Conclusion: Understanding the conditions under which wet nursing has positive outcomes and what can be done to facilitate beneficial wet nursing practices will assist in enabling wet nursing to be more commonly implemented in emergencies.

Breastfeeding Practices and Associated Factors among Immigrant Muslim Arab Women Living in a Metropolitan Area of the Southwest of United States

Background

Muslim Arab immigrants are a fast-growing, under-studied, and underserved minority population in the United States. Little is known about breastfeeding practices in this population.

objectives

The objective of this study was to describe infant feeding practices and factors associated with these practices among immigrant Muslim Arab women.

design

A nonexperimental-one group, cross-sectional, descriptive, prospective design was used to identify infant feeding practices among immigrant Muslim Arab women.

methods

A convenience sample of one hundred sixteen immigrant Muslim Arab women with at least one child five years or younger was recruited from a large metropolitan area in the Southwestern region. Participants completed the social ecological model of health promotion self-reported questionnaire. Descriptive statistics were performed to identify infant feeding practices and logistic regression was used to identify factors associated with these practices.

results

Immigrant Muslim Arab mothers demonstrate high breastfeeding initiation rates (99.2%) and lengthy breastfeeding duration (M = 11.86, SD = 8.04), but low rates of exclusive breastfeeding at six months (21.6%). The most frequent reasons for early termination of breastfeeding were perceived insufficient milk (44.4%), child was still hungry after breastfeeding (37.5%), and the belief that the child was old enough to stop breastfeeding (32.9%).

conclusion

Development of educational interventions are needed to improve breastfeeding exclusivity and raise women's awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding. Healthcare providers should help women gain confidence in their ability to produce enough milk to successfully continue breastfeeding.

Current Trends in Research on Human Milk Exchange for Infant Feeding

Breastfeeding is critical for the healthy growth and development of infants. A diverse range of infant-feeding methods are used around the world today. Many methods involve feeding infants with expressed human milk obtained through human milk exchange. Human milk exchange includes human milk banking, human milk sharing, and markets in which human milk may be purchased or sold by individuals or commercial entities. In this review, we examine peer-reviewed scholarly literature pertaining to human milk exchange in the social sciences and basic human milk sciences. We also examine current position and policy statements for human milk sharing. Our review highlights areas in need of future research. This review is a valuable resource for healthcare professionals and others who provide evidence-based care to families about infant feeding.