Kolkata, Aug 6 (UNI) World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1
to 7 to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.
The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2020 is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier
planet”. In line with this theme, WHO and UNICEF are calling on governments to protect
and promote women’s access to skilled breastfeeding counselling, a critical component
of breastfeeding support.
Breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. Increasing
breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800 000 lives every year,
the majority being children under 6 months. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of
mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.
It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20 000 maternal deaths each
year due to breast cancer.
Breast milk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which
help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breast milk provides all the
energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to
provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first
year, and up to one third during the second year of life.
Breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight
or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life.
Breastfeeding provides every child with the best possible start in life. It delivers health,
nutritional and emotional benefits to both children and mothers. And it forms part of a
sustainable food system. But while breastfeeding is a natural process, it is not always
easy. Mothers need support – both to get started and to sustain breastfeeding.
Skilled counselling services can ensure that mothers and families receive this support,
along with the information, the advice, and the reassurance they need to nourish their
babies optimally.
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