benefits of breastfeeding and breastfeeding tips for mother and baby
“The warmth of its mother's hand, the food coming from her breasts and the safety of knowing her presence are only three basic demands of a newborn baby. Breastfeeding is subject to these three conditions."
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1st -7th to raise awareness regarding breastfeeding, urge guardians to embrace breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is an important nutrition intervention which will help in breaking the chain of malnutrition and help the Government to achieve National Nutrition Goals and Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2030.
According to World Health Organization increasing breastfeeding to near-international levels will help in saving more than 800000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months.
Important facts
According to the “Rights of the Child" every child has the right to good nutrition
- Malnutrition accounts for 45% of child deaths.
- Only 41% of infants less than 6 months of age are breastfed.
- Worldwide, 3 out of 5 babies do not breastfeed in the first hour of life.
- Worldwide in 2019, 144 million children under the age of 5 are estimated to be squatting (very young), 47 million to be wasted (too thin for height), and 38.3 million to be overweight or underweight.
- Proper breastfeeding for all children 0–23 months can save the lives of 820,000 children under the age of 5 each year.
- Improving child development and reducing health costs through breastfeeding will bring economic benefits to individual families as well as nation.
- Breastfeeding improves IQ, school participation, and is related with higher pay in grown-up life.
Breastfeeding
Breast milk is the natural first food for babies, providing all the energy and nutrients the baby needs for the first months of life, half or more of the baby's nutritional needs in the second half of the first year, and up to a third in the second year of life. While breastfeeding is a natural process, it is also a learned behavior. Mothers and other caregivers need active support to establish and maintain proper breastfeeding (exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and to continue breastfeeding for 2 years or more, along with age-appropriate, nutritious and safe complementary foods).
Benefits of breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the foundation of lifelong good health for babies and mothers. It is least expensive
Benefits of breastfeeding for the baby:
- It helps to improve intelligence.
- It helps to reduce infant mortality
- It ensures development and growth.
- It helps the early secretion of breast milk.
- Early skin-to-skin contact can keeps the baby warm.
- It is a universal solution that gives everyone a fair start in life
- Feeding first milk (colostrum) protects the baby from diseases.
- It helps mother and baby to develop a close and loving relationship.
- It decreases risk of illness such as diarrhoea, pneumonia, ear and throat infections.
- It lessens osteoporosis
- It benefits child spacing
- It promotes post-partum weight loss
- It reduces the risk of excessive bleeding after delivery
- It reduces the risk of ovarian breast, uterine and cancer
- It helps womb to contract and the placenta is expelled easily.
- It helps womb to contract and the placenta is expelled easily.
Benefits of breastfeeding for the planet
- It is environmentally friendly and it does not create pollution.
- Consumption of resources such as glass, plastic, metal, paper is low
- Breast milk is a naturally renewable source that does not require packaging or transportation.
- It produces zero waste and does not pollute its manufacturing environment.
- Electricity or fuel is used in the manufacture of infant formula. Breast milk does not require electricity and fuel to breastfeed so it is not harmful to the environment.
WHO and UNICEF guidelines for breastfeeding
- No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers
- Mother starting breastfeeding within the first hour of life
- Breastfeeding on demand - that is, as often as the baby wants, day and night
- Breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or older was continued with the introduction of nutritious and safe complementary (solid) foods at 6 months of age.
- Exclusive breastfeeding until 6 months of age (the baby receives only breast milk without extra food or drink, and no water unless there are medical reasons).
Role of health worker and nurses in breastfeeding
A health worker should provide following information to the mothers:
- The mother should start breastfeeding early immediately after birth, preferably within an hour.
- Only breast milk for the first six months of life is the best food and drink for the baby.
- No other food or drink or water is required during this period.
- However allow the baby to receive ORS, drops, vitamins, minerals and medication syrups when needed for medical reasons.
- After 6 months of age, infants should be introduced to semi-solid, soft foods (complementary feeding).
- But breastfeeding should be continued for two years and beyond because it is an important source of nutrition, energy and protection from illness.
- From the age of 6-8 months a child should eat two to three times a day and after that, the mother should eat three to four times a day for an additional 9 months to breastfeed.
- Depending on the child's appetite, one or two nutritious snacks are required between meals, such as fruit and homemade energy dense food.
- The baby should be fed small amounts of food gradually increasing in variety and size as he or she grows.
- During illness, babies need extra fluids and encouragement to eat regular meals, and breastfed babies need more breastfeeding.
National breastfeeding promotion program in India
The National Family Health Survey-2015-16 (NFHS-4) in India found that only 42.6% of mothers begin breastfeeding within an hour of birth, while 78.9% of deliveries take place in a health facility. During the first six months of life, 54.9% of babies were exclusively breastfed. Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India has launched a National breastfeeding promotion program as MAA (Mothers Absolute Affection) to improve infant and child feeding under the Strategic Policy for Reproductive Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health (RMNCH + A).
'MAA' (Mothers Absolute Affection)
MAA was launched as a nationwide program in states / UTs in August 2016 to improve breastfeeding and child feeding practices in the country. It includes a comprehensive set of measures on the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding and child feeding at the community and comfort levels. Key components of the MAA program are the production of community awareness, strengthening of interpersonal communication through ASHA, skilled support and monitoring and award / recognition of breastfeeding at delivery points in public health facilities.
1 comments:
Click here for commentsVery informative.