Breastfeeding is safe – WHO
August 7, 2010 11:24 pm
MANILA, Aug. 7 – Breastfeeding by mothers is safe and it saves lives, the World Health Organization (WHO) said over the weekend.
During the World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated Aug. 1-7 in more than 170 countries, WHO reiterated its call on health facilities and health workers to implement 10 steps to help mothers breastfeed successfully and improve their babies' health and chances of survival.
“Breast milk is the ideal food for newborns and infants. It is safe, gives babies the nutrients they need for healthy development and contains antibodies that help protect infants from common childhood illnesses,” WHO officials said.
While exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life is on the rise in many countries, further improvement of breastfeeding rates is critical to improve the nutrition and the health of infants and children.
For a variety of reasons, including the lack of breastfeeding counselling, still too many mothers stop exclusive breastfeeding within a few weeks after delivery.
"It is estimated that around 35 percent of infants aged 0 to 6 months are exclusively breastfed in the world today," says Dr. Elizabeth Mason, director of WHO's Department of Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health and Development.
"But if all babies and young children were breastfed exclusively for their first six months of life and then given nutritious complementary food with continued breastfeeding up to two years of age, the lives of an additional 1.5 million children under five would be saved every year."
The 10 steps for health facilities to take towards ensuring successful breastfeeding are as follows:
Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff; Train all health care staff in the skills necessary to implement this policy; Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding; Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within half an hour of birth; Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants;
Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breast milk unless medically indicated; Practice "rooming in" – allowing mothers and infants to remain together – 24 hours a day; Encourage breastfeeding on demand – whenever the baby is hungry; Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants; Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic. (PNA) scs/JCA
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