Hello everyone! This week I am celebrating World Breastfeeding Week – breastfeeding: a winning goal for life! Nearly 7 million young children die every year - over 40% are newborns. Immediate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth could prevent 1 in 5 of these unnecessary deaths. That is more than 1,500 children EVERY DAY. Today less than half of the world’s newborns are being breastfed. Breastfeeding is the most important public health intervention for all newborns and children, with a lifelong impact on health and survival. Breastfeeding is the best way to provide infants with the nutrients they need for growth and development. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth until a baby is six months old. Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond. Information about breastfeeding: - It is low cost and high quality and involves less waste - It is a human right - It reduces infant mortality and improves growth and cognition - It improves maternal health through reduced cancers and bone loss, and helps child spacing Women need to be supported through breastfeeding, including before her baby is born, when her baby is born, and when she goes home. Support is required from her family, health care workers and policy makers. Today, 179 countries have pledged to end preventable maternal, newborn and child mortality within a generation. World Breastfeeding Week is responding to the current Millennium Development Goals countdown. Breastfeeding is linked to each of the Goals. Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week with me by raising awareness of the importance of breastfeeding. Please help to give every child the best possible start in life. World Breastfeeding Week was initiated, and is coordinated, by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, which is celebrating its 22nd year of WBW with its Core Partners: the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN), La Leche League International, the International Lactation Consultants Association (ILCA), and the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, and Wellstart International. WABA World Breastfeeding Week is also endorsed and supported by the WHO and UNICEF. For more information from WABA see: worldbreastfeedingweek.org/ Information from: WABA, WHO and UNICEF WABA World Breastfeeding Week
Posted on: Wed, 06 Aug 2014 14:51:43 +0000