Infant and young child feeding
Key facts
- About 36% of infants 0 to 6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
- Few children receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods; in many countries less than a fourth of infants 6–23 months of age meet the criteria of dietary diversity and feeding frequency that are appropriate for their age.
- Over 800 000 children's lives could be saved every year among children under 5, if all children 0–23 months were optimally breastfed . Breastfeeding improves IQ, school attendance, and is associated with higher income in adult life. 1
- Improving child development and reducing health costs through breastfeeding results in economic gains for individual families as well as at the national level.
Optimal breastfeeding is so critical that it could save over 800 000 under 5 child lives every year.
WHO and UNICEF recommend:
- early initiation of breastfeeding within 1 hour of birth;
- exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life; and
- introduction of nutritionally-adequate and safe complementary (solid) foods at 6 months together with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.
Breastfeeding
Exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months has many benefits for the infant and mother. Chief among these is protection against gastrointestinal infections which is observed not only in developing but also industrialized countries. Early initiation of breastfeeding, within one hour of birth, protects the newborn from acquiring infections and reduces newborn mortality. The risk of mortality due to diarrhoea and other infections can increase in infants who are either partially breastfed or not breastfed at all.Breast milk is also an important source of energy and nutrients in children aged 6 to 23 months. It can provide half or more of a child’s energy needs between the ages of 6 and 12 months, and one third of energy needs between 12 and 24 months. Breast milk is also a critical source of energy and nutrients during illness, and reduces mortality among children who are malnourished.
Children and adolescents who were breastfed as babies are less likely to be overweight/obese. Additionally, they perform better on intelligence tests and have higher school attendance. Breastfeeding is associated with higher income in adult life. Improving child development and reducing health costs result in economic gains for individual families as well as at the national level.1
Longer durations of breastfeeding also contribute to the health and well-being of mothers; it reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancer and helps space pregnancies–exclusive breastfeeding of babies under 6 months has a hormonal effect which often induces a lack of menstruation. This is a natural (though not fail-safe) method of birth control known as the Lactation Amenorrhoea Method.
Mothers and families need to be supported for their children to be optimally breastfed
Hospital Initiative
- skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby immediately after birth and initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life;
- breastfeeding on demand (that is, as often as the child wants, day and night);
- rooming-in (allowing mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day);
- not giving babies additional food or drink, even water, unless medically necessary;
- provision of supportive health services with infant and young child feeding counselling during all contacts with caregivers and young children, such as during antenatal and postnatal care, well-child and sick child visits, and immunization; and
- community support, including mother support groups and community-based health promotion and education activities.
Feeding in exceptionally difficult circumstances
Families and children in difficult circumstances require special attention and practical support. Wherever possible, mothers and babies should remain together and get the support they need to exercise the most appropriate feeding option available. Breastfeeding remains the preferred mode of infant feeding in almost all difficult situations, for instance:- low-birth-weight or premature infants;
- HIV-infected mothers;
- adolescent mothers;
- infants and young children who are malnourished; and
- families suffering the consequences of complex emergencies.
HIV and infant feeding
Breastfeeding, and especially early and exclusive breastfeeding, is one of the most significant ways to improve infant survival rates. However, HIV can pass from mother to child during pregnancy, labour or delivery, and also through breast milk. In the past, the challenge was to balance the risk of infants acquiring HIV through breastfeeding versus the higher risk of death from causes other than HIV, in particular malnutrition and serious illnesses such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, among HIV-exposed but still uninfected infants who were not breastfed.The evidence on HIV and infant feeding shows that giving antiretroviral drugs (ARVs) to HIV-infected mothers can significantly reduce the risk of transmission through breastfeeding and also improve her health. This enables infants of HIV-infected mothers to be breastfed with a low risk of transmission (1-2%). HIV-infected mothers and their infants living in countries where diarrhoea, pneumonia and malnutrition are still common causes of infant and child deaths can therefore gain the benefits of breastfeeding with minimal risk of HIV transmission.
for more information please visit the WHO website were thius has been extracted from at
Comments
Post a Comment