Health

Meditators can Alter Others Negative Emotions

Published

4 years ago

June 4, 2019

A new study regarding Meditation has been published in the European Journal of Social Psychology. According to the research, the people who meditate daily can reduce negative emotion not only in themselves, but can also decrease negative emotion up to a limit into their life partners as well. The individual benefits of Meditation may impact others. But the question is how to detect whether the non-meditating partners are taking benefits or not.

Christopher May, Assistant professor in University College Groningen, said, “Most researches on Meditation has focused on its benefits for the individuals doing the practice. This research, particularly over the last 20 years, has shown that Meditation has numerous benefits for the practitioner, such as increasing mindfulness and positive emotions, and decreasing negative emotions.”

To carry out the research, May and his colleagues selected 53 university students who did not meditate ever in life. 18 of them did not interact with their room partners or study partners. Hence they were excluded. Now, May was left with only 35 students, and he asked them to do Meditation daily. Various blogs like claytonmicallef.com, that talked and preached about meditation, came into assistance during that time.

The remaining students were surveyed daily for eight weeks, and May found positive emotion and mindfulness not only into the participants but their room partners and study partners also showed fewer negative emotion in eight weeks. But the reduction in negative sentiment in the meditators was in higher amount as compared to their partners.

In the end, May said that a new study would take place over a more significant number of people to increase our confidence in the research. We want to know why non-meditating partners have only a few changes in negative emotion as compared to the meditating participants.

Health

What Interferes with Successful Breastfeeding?

Published

2 weeks ago

September 5, 2023

Michelle Langton

While breastfeeding is ideal, it comes with many difficulties new parents might face.

After experiencing the intensity of labor and delivery, many new parents are left exhausted. Despite this fatigue and surviving pospartum, new parents soon learn the importance of managing the needs of an infant. Putting aside their own desires, parents learn to quickly adapt.

Exhaustion and recovery are not the only things that discourage parents from breastfeeding. There are a variety of other woes that can make it difficult for a lactating parent to continue to choose this option.

While 83 percent of women breastfeed at the beginning of postpartum, there is a drastic reduction by 6 months, resulting in only 56% of babies still being breastfed.

Engorged Breasts

When a lactating woman’s milk comes in, she may experience intense pain and discomfort. The breasts typically become overly filled with milk because they have not yet regulated their supply. This engorgement can continue throughout the breastfeeding journey for a variety of reasons.

If the baby’s schedule changes, a woman’s breasts can become overly full. If the parent misses a feeding, breasts can experience discomfor which can lead to breastfeeding infection. If a woman becomes preoccupied at work and does not make time to pump, she can experience discomfort.

If breast engorgement is not treated properly, milk ducts can become blocked, and if a woman does not work to move the milk through her breasts (via feeding her baby, pumping, or expressing the milk), this engorgement can lead to further problems and may cause clogged milk ducts.

Infection

One of the biggest concerns beyond the pain a woman experiences with engorgement is infection. This is known as mastitis, and leads to a woman experiencing not only breast pain and warm breast tissue, but also flu-like symptoms that come with fever, chills, headache, and further exhaustion.

In order to help prevent infection, regular feedings are essential. Often, the best mastitis treatment, at least for early symptoms, is to massage the breast in a warm shower and express the extra milk.

Furthermore, by working with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), parents can have a great resource on how to best deal with, treat, and alleviate these problems.

Not only is an IBCLC a great resource in helping prevent breast infection, but a great source for your breastfeeding journey to encourage and educate you in best practices.

The best way to achieve breastfeeding success is to utilize the many tools that an IBCLC offers.

Burnout

To exclusively breastfeed your baby can be quite overwhelming and exhausting. Between nightly feedings, cluster feedings, and pumping sessions for working mothers, breastfeeding is difficult to maintain. Unless a woman is properly supported by her family, friends, and workplace, the chances that a woman will continue to breastfeed are significantly impacted.

Culture also impacts the likelihood of a baby being breastfed beyond 6 months. The CDC discovered that parents in the Southeast United States are less likely to breastfeed their children past six months. This was in contrast to the Northwest, where business policies and the culture is more breastfeeding-friendly and supportive.

Conclusion

Despite the nutritional benefits afforded to a breastfed baby, there are many obstacles that can be discouraging for parents on their breastfeeding journey. From exhaustion to pain to lack of supoort, parents have many reasons to give up.

To increase your chances of success, surround yourself with supportive individuals, reach out to an IBCLC, also known as lactation consultants, and gain the necessary tools required to provide your child with the healthiest option available – you!