Breastfeeding is the cheapest and most effective life-saver in history
2013-08-01
“There is no other single health intervention that has such a high impact for babies and mothers as eastfeeding and which costs so little for governments,” said UNICEF Deputy Executive Director Geeta Rao Gupta. “Breastfeeding is a baby’s ‘first immunization’ and the most effective and inexpensive life-saver ever.”
Children who are exclusively eastfed are 14 times more likely to survive the first six months of lifethan non-eastfed children. Starting eastfeeding in the first day after birth can reduce the risk of new-born death by up to 45 per cent.
Breastfeeding also supports a child’s ability to learn and helps prevent obesity and chronic diseases later in life. Recent studies in the United States and United Kingdom point to large health care savings resulting from eastfeeding, given that eastfed children fall illmuch less often than non-eastfed children.
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Despite these well documented benefits of eastfeeding worldwide, only 39 per cent of children aged less than six months were exclusively eastfed in 2012. This global figure has improved very little for the past several decades, due in part to large countries where the eastfeeding rate is low, and to the general lack of a supportive environment for eastfeeding mothers.
However, countries with supportive policies and comprehensive programmes that reach all communities have been able to increase their eastfeeding rates significantly.
China, which recently attracted media attention because its strong consumer demand for baby formula caused shortages in other countries, has an exclusive eastfeeding rate of only 28 per cent.
In a bid to boost such low rates in the world’s most populous country, UNICEF and the National Centre for Women’s and Children’s Health in May launched a “10m2of Love” campaign to locate, register, certify and publicize eastfeeding rooms in order to raise awareness and support for eastfeeding.
The campaign has established a web portal (unicef.cn/10m2) where any organization can register eastfeeding rooms for staff, patrons or customers that adhere to simple international standards. A mobile phone application to map the locations of all 10m2of Love facilities is under development
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Cambodia has had notable success in raising exclusive eastfeeding rates from 11.7 per cent of infants less than six months in 2000 to a very high 74 per cent in 2010. Togo and Zambia also increased the rates from 10 and 20 per cent respectively in the late 1990s to over 60 per cent by 2000. At the other end of the scale, Tunisia’s exclusive eastfeeding rate fell dramatically from 46.5 per cent in 2000 to only 6.2 per cent by the end of the decade. The exclusive eastfeeding rate in Indonesia is declining; Nigeria has made no improvement over many years; and some of the lowest rates in the world are in Somalia, Chad and South Africa. Such examples reflect insufficient global leadership on eastfeeding, as it continues to be undervalued relative to its importance in the life of child. There needs to be higher prioritization and commitment, targeted policies and greater consensus to engage the world in promoting this life-saving and vital practice. |
UNICEF campaigns for exclusive eastfeeding for the first six months and continued eastfeeding for two years or beyond, using creative tactics to draw attention to the issue. It recently rolled out a campaign in Uruguay and Argentina, “Giving the east is giving the best of you,” starring Uruguayan actress Natalia Oreiro, aiming to boost eastfeeding among working mothers.