13 Answer the following questions.
1. How long should babies be exclusively breastfed?
2. What diseases can breastfeeding help reduce or delay?
3. What effect does breastfeeding have on mother and newborn bonding?
4. What advantages are there for mothers?
14 Listen to a paediatrician talking to a group of mothers about breastfeeding and complete the sentences below.
1. Midwives encourage skin-to-skin contact between mother and newborn for at least an hour after birth.
2. Mums should sit or lie comfortably and keep their babies close to their breast.
3. The baby’s nose should be kept in line with the nipple.
4. The chin should be kept away from the nipple so that the baby can place its mouth comfortably around the nipple.
5. Mums should encourage the baby to open its mouth by touching its upper lip with the nipple.
6. If mums feel pain, they should put a clean finger between the baby’s mouth and the nipple.
15 PROJECT WORK In small groups create a slogan and some slides to promote breastfeeding. Use some of the ideas from the text on the previous page.
PROS AND CONS OF DUMMIES
Dummies (BrE), called pacifiers in American English, help calm babies, but are they good or bad for them? Dummies may reduce the risk of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). Several studies have found a decrease in the risk of SIDS in infants who use a dummy. The periodic movement of the mouth while sucking keeps the baby in a lighter state of sleep, so there is less chance that he will stop breathing.
The problem of "nipple confusion" often makes new mothers avoid dummies, and doctors recommend that babies wait to use dummies until about one month of age, when breastfeeding is well established.
Dummies do not cause dental problems. For most babies, in the first two years, the mouth is so malleable that, whatever change a dummy may cause in the palate and teeth, it could correct itself.
Older babies who regularly use dummies have a third more ear infections than those who stopped using them at 6 months. Some doctors think that it is because sucking changes the pressure in the ears.
GLOSSARY
bonding : legame
breast milk : latte materno
furthermore : inoltre
inflammatory bowel disease : malattia infiammatoria dell'intestino
IQ : quoziente intellettivo
newborn : neonato
oxytocin : ossitocina
self-confidence : autostima
toning : tonificazione
womb : grembo