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July 20, 2018 – In the wake of an American attempt to defeat a recent international effort to encourage badfeeding as a better option than bad-milk substitutes, and anticipating the week World Breastfeeding Day (1-8 August), Harvard TH Ana Langer, Chan School of Public Health, discusses the health benefits of badfeeding, its low prevalence and the efforts that should be made to promote it.
Q: At a recent United Nations meeting, an international resolution aimed at promoting badfeeding and restricting the promotion of food products that may harm young children. Officials said their efforts were aimed at protecting women's choice of nutrition for their babies. What is your opinion about this?
A: Breastfeeding has been recognized for decades as the best way to feed infants, with evidence consistently demonstrating its psychological, financial, and financial benefits. Breast milk and the experience of badfeeding protect babies against malnutrition and infections, represent a unique opportunity for mother-baby bonding, promote the psychological well-being of mothers and babies and contribute to cognitive development of children. Breastfeeding also protects the long-term health of the child by reducing his risk of obesity and related conditions, such as diabetes and hypertension, and protects women from being overweight. ovarian and bad cancer. In addition, bad milk does not require any special preparation, does not expose the baby to contaminated water and does not result in any direct financial cost. While women – and all people – should always be able to make their own choices regarding their health and well-being and those of the addicted, evidence about the benefits of badfeeding are so strong and consistent that a universal consensus has been reached. Key recommendations: Babies should be badfed within the hour following delivery, badfed exclusively during their first six months of life, and continue to be badfed, supplemented with solid foods, until they are badfeeding. at the age of one or two years.
There are individual cases where badfeeding is not possible or the preferred alternative. Where this is the case, mothers and other caregivers should be taught how to safely prepare preparations and deliver them so as to reproduce, to the extent possible, the experience of the baby. badfeeding, for example skin to skin.
High-level guidelines and recommendations, such as those of the World Health Organization (WHO) that the Trump administration has attempted to change, are evidence-based and target the general population . They are not suitable for rare individual cases that they may not be able to apply. Therefore, attempts to mitigate evidence-based recommendations on badfeeding are unjustified and likely reflect the influence of the preparation industry that contributed to the decline. of badfeeding over the past 70 years.
Q: Are concerted efforts needed to advance badfeeding? What is the role of World Breastfeeding Week?
A: Breastfeeding was the norm until the early twentieth century, when practice began to be badociated with a lack of clbad and education, particularly in Canada and Canada. in the USA. Infant formula became available at the time, and its use increased, especially after World War II. The decline in badfeeding has spread, including in the developing world, where feeding babies with bad-milk substitutes has brought significant risks to their health and survival. Starting in the 1960s, badfeeding has experienced a modest increase, at least in part thanks to initiatives sponsored by WHO and UNICEF to support this practice, including the World Health Organization (WHO) Initiative. baby-friendly hospitals and the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. But the improvements have been modest. A recent review of the situation in the developing world has shown that the prevalence of exclusive badfeeding in infants under six months of age between 1995 and 2010 has only increased from 33% to 39%.
Many factors contribute to low negative attitudes toward public badfeeding and its badociation with the "lower clbad" in many cultures, insufficient promotion in health systems, lack of supportive policies concerning maternity leave and the possibilities of badfeeding at the workplace; Very important, the aggressive campaigns of the bad-milk substitutes industry.
Investments and commitments to improve infant feeding practices have a crucial impact on children's lives. That is why efforts such as World Breastfeeding Week, which has been contributing since 1992 to the promotion of badfeeding, are essential.
Q: Are there countries or regions of the world where promoting badfeeding is a particular challenge? What should be done to promote badfeeding worldwide?
A: The low prevalence of badfeeding is a universal problem. UNICEF, the WHO and the Global Breastfeeding Collective released last year a report entitled Global Breastfeeding Scorecard which evaluated 194 nations. The report finds that no country fully respects the recommended standards for badfeeding, only 40% of children under six months are badfed exclusively, and only 23 countries have badfeeding rates exclusives greater than 60%
. an investment of only $ 4.70 per newborn would be needed to bring the global exclusive badfeeding rate in children under six months to 50% by 2025.
It goes from that financial investments are needed to increase the prevalence of badfeeding. It is essential that coordinated, evidence-based and sustained global and national efforts involving the public and private sectors, as well as the political, policy and advocacy communities, ensure that badfeeding is one of the most important most cost-effective and humane health care promotional interventions – will become the norm
– Karen Feldscher
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