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From August 1st to 7th, 2018 is the World Breastfeeding Week. Organized by Unicef and its partners in 120 countries since 1992, it aims to promote and encourage exclusive breastfeeding. In recent decades, more and more evidence about its health benefits has been gathered.
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WHO recommends breastfeeding for the first six months
Breast milk being considered the first infant food World Health Organization and UNICEF publish campaigns to promote the importance of this gesture. One of the messages is to encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of infancy, a practice that is not widely practiced in some parts of the world. However, UNICEF estimates that, during this period, the non-breastfed infant has a risk of death 14 times higher (all-cause) than the infant exclusively breast-fed. This awareness would begin to pay off as rates worldwide increased from 36% in 2011 to 43% in 2014.
To allow mothers to start breastfeeding and maintain it for six months, both organizations recommend to follow several rules, starting with breastfeeding in the first hour after birth. It is also recommended to stick to exclusive breastfeeding (the infant must absorb only breast milk and no other food or drink), to breastfeed on demand (as often that the child claims it, day or night) and not to use bottles, pacifiers or lollipops. "Subsequently, babies must receive complementary foods in addition to breastfeeding, which must continue until they are 2 years of age or older," WHO reports.
What are the advantages for the infant?
Aside from a quality diet, since breast milk covers all the needs that baby needs to grow (vitamins, minerals, trace elements, sugars, fats, proteins) numerous studies have shown health benefits of this one in the long term and on several levels. "Breast milk is unique. Its richness and its variety allow it to contribute to the learning of the taste in the baby, to adapt permanently to its nutritional needs and to better protect it against certain infections or diseases (gastro-enteritis, otitis, allergies …). These characteristics are not found in industrial milks, "says Inpes in a dedicated guide.
Thus, it is established that breast milk promotes good digestion in children and allows protection against microbes through to the antibodies of the mother the baby does not yet have a well-developed immune defense system. Moreover, it would help reduce the risk of allergies of children predisposed to the family level and the risk of obesity by growing up. In 2013, researchers at Inserm even published a study indicating that, thanks to its many fatty acids, breast milk could also contribute to faster psychomotor development in young children. Note that it is contraindicated in case of infection with the AIDS virus in the mother.
Breastfeeding is also beneficial for mothers
If breastfeeding is a means to provide a diet for proper development of the infant, it also has significant repercussions on the health of the mother . Inpes's guidebook mentions three known benefits: breastfeeding speeds up contractions of the uterus, allowing it to return to its place more quickly after childbirth, decreases the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and decrease the risk of osteoporosis. "He can also help you find the line by using the fats stored during pregnancy. (…) It is a way of prolonging the emotional bond that is woven between the mother and the baby during pregnancy, "says the health agency.
The WHO specifies that in the short term, it "Often leads to a cessation of menstruation, which is a natural but not infallible method of birth control (98% protection during the six months following delivery.") If virtually all mothers can breastfeed it is on the condition of receiving advice and encouragement as well as practical help to solve the least problem, for example UNICEF urges governments all over the world to ensure that breastfeeding and work are not mutually opposed by adopting policies such as paid maternity leave, breastfeeding breaks and spaces provided for this purpose.
Breast milk or industrial milk, what differences
Rates and duration of breastfeeding vary according to age, socio-professional category … and women who are unwilling or unable to use it can turn to infant milks . For example, some people want to switch between breastfeeding and bottles of milk, to allow fathers to participate in baby care or because of fatigue, difficulty breastfeeding, or after returning to work. While breast milk is the ideal food for every infant, there are many brands and types of infant formula. The first naturally varies from one week to another while the second exists in several age categories and declensions, in case of intolerance or allergy.
As the infant milk is a preparation that is essentially based on cow's milk with some transformations, a debate exists as to its too great difference with breast milk. On the subject, the Inpes states that it is "a food of irreplaceable quality and its characteristics are not all found in infant milks of trade", but while specifying that the decision belongs to each couple. For Unicef, this difference is due to the fact that breast milk is "a nutrient fluid containing antibodies, enzymes, long-chain fatty acids and hormones. Above all, infant formula poses practical challenges, such as ensuring that it is thoroughly mixed with drinking water, that the dilution is correct, and that the utensils can be well cleaned.
Breastmilk can be donated
In premature infants, breast milk helps prevent certain specific complications related to prematurity (infections, ulcerative colitis, retinopathy). It is to help them that lactariums intervene by collecting breast milk from mothers wishing to give their surplus milk. "Any woman who is breastfeeding and wants to give her milk can do it. A small bottle of 100 ml of milk a day for 15 days is enough ", says the Association of lactariums of France, of which 19 distributed on the territory accept anonymous milk donations. The conditions are simple: to be in good health, not smokers, not to have benefited from blood transfusion and to have a negative serology
Once the file filled and approved, the team of the lactarium provides to the mother all the explanations and the necessary equipment: breast pump, baby bottles … The latter collects her surplus milk every day, freezes it and gives it to the lactarium teams who collect it every three weeks at home. The Ile-de-France lactarium states that " the collected milk is pasteurized and controlled in accordance with the good practice guide: bacteriological and virological controls (serological examinations vis-à- viruses) and fraud detection (search for cow's milk protein). It is then distributed to medical prescription neonatalogies.
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