WORLD BREASTFEEDING WEEK
World Breastfeeding Week is an annual celebration held every year from August 1 to 7 in over 120 countries. World Health Organisation states breastfeeding(BF) as one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. This year’s theme for World BF Week is ‘Step Up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support.’ By urging organisations and nations to create safeguards for BF, this topic hopes to increase BF awareness.
A group of policymakers at a WHO/UNICEF meeting on August 1, 1990, made the first attempt to promote and support breastfeeding at the global level. It enact and adopted a declaration called the “Innocenti Declaration”. People celebrate World Breastfeeding Week all over the world to commemorate this “Innocenti Declaration.”
“World Breastfeeding Week”
is to bring about a positive change by inviting advocates, activists, decision-makers and other key figures in enacting and promoting pro-BF policies.
WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old. And continued BF with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond. :
World over cultures recommend BF because of its benefits to both the baby and the mother. It benefits the child in the following ways –
* The colostrum i.e. the milk that the breasts make in the initial days helps to develop the baby’s digestive system and aid its functioning. Studies have shown that breastfed babies have fewer constipation and digestion-related problems compared to bottle-fed babies.
* The anti-bodies in the breast milk help in building the child’s immunity and thus the child runs a lower risk of getting infections, diarrhea, asthma, obesity, allergies, etc.
* It also helps in the initial development of the baby’s brain.
* The babies who are breastfed also have low chances of becoming a victim of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome). It is a condition whereby the infant exhibits no signs of suffering but is found dead after being put to bed.
Additionally, BF benefits the mother as well –
* It helps in forming a unique emotional bond between the mother and child. It also prevents the incidence of post delivery depression.
* Its available at your disposal and is even cheaper in comparison to bottle fed milk.
* Breast milk also releases a hormone[1] called oxytocin. It helps in contracting the uterus and return to its previous state faster. Additionally it also helps in reducing excessive bleeding after delivery.
* It helps in losing weight, faster
* It also reduces the risk of developing breast cancer along with uterine and ovarian cancer.
[1] Hormones are chemicals produced b the body to help one part of the body communicate with another, by sending signals to certain organs, tissues, and cells. Released directly into the bloodstream by organs known as endocrine glands, hormones circulate through the body until they make contact with their target areas.The initial contact a hormone makes with a cell starts a series of important reactions carried out within that specific cell or tissue. Prolactin, which stimulates milk production in breastfeeding women and has wide-ranging effects on behavior, reproduction, and the immune system.
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