World Breastfeeding Week: Why mom's milk is the best
Celebrate World Breastfeeding Week by learning the amazing benefits of feeding your child with breast milk.
Each year, from August 1 until August 7, the world observes World Breastfeeding Week. The week is aimed at highlighting the health benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child.
The World Health Organization (WHO) encourages mothers to breastfeed their children within the first hour of birth. This helps strengthen the bond between mother and child.
Feeding your baby exclusively with breast milk from the time they are born until six months of age is recommended by health officials. Sadly, WHO reports that less than half of infants under six months old are exclusively breastfed.
READ: Does breastfeeding make you lose weight?
Breastfeeding is important for the following reasons:
- Breastfeeding is essential for child survival and health. Just like adults, children need to eat. Breast milk is the healthiest food that your child needs to survive. It contains antibodies.
- According to WHO, breast milk helps protect your baby against many common illnesses. Some of the illnesses include obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers, this is according to a report by UNICEF.
- Breast milk is safe because it is natural.
- Breast milk is nutritious because it reportedly contains protein, sugar, vitamins, and minerals, plus numerous bioactive components.
- Breast milk is a sustainable food for babies.
- Breastfeeding is beneficial for moms. The WHO reports that 'women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers'.
Do you have questions about breastfeeding? Sister Bavely Sebola, the Maternity Unit Manager at Life Carstenhof Hospital in Gauteng, answers the most common questions about breastfeeding here.
See celebrities who have publicly supported breastfeeding by reading the following article: World Breastfeeding Week: Celebrities who support breastfeeding.
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