World Breastfeeding Week slated for August

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1^st to 7^th August in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.

It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) policy-makers in August 1990 to protect promote and support breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is the best way to provide newborns with the nutrients they need. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.

The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2009 is "Breastfeeding – a vital emergency response. Are you ready?”

The week long celebration is expected to highlight the need to protect, promote and support breastfeeding in emergencies for infant and young child survival, health and development.

Breastfeeding is the ideal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family and the health care system.

Colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, is recommended by WHO as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age.

WHO recommends that infants start receiving complementary foods at six months (180 days) of age in addition to breast milk.

Complementary foods should be given 2–3 times a day between 6–8 months, increasing to 3–4 times a day between 9–11 months. Between 12–23 months of age, 3–4 meals should be given.

In addition, depending on the child’s appetite, 1–2 nutritious snacks can be offered between meals. These foods should be adequate, meaning that they provide sufficient energy, protein and micronutrients to meet a growing child’s nutritional needs.

Foods should be prepared and given in a safe manner to minimize the risk of contamination. Feeding young infants requires active care and stimulation to encourage the child to eat.

The transition from exclusive breastfeeding to full use of family foods is a very vulnerable period. It is the time when many infants become malnourished, contributing significantly to the high prevalence of malnutrition in children under five years of age worldwide.

It is essential therefore those infants receive appropriate, adequate and safe complementary foods to ensure the right transition from the breastfeeding period to the full use of family foods.

Children are among the most vulnerable groups during emergencies, and small children are the most vulnerable of all, due to increased risk of death due to diarrhoea and pneumonia. During emergencies, unsolicited or uncontrolled donations of breast-milk substitutes may undermine breastfeeding and should be avoided.

As part of emergency preparedness, hospitals and other health care services should have trained health workers who can help mothers establish breastfeeding and overcome difficulties.