Press
Centre
Press Release
Breastfeeding Still Best for Infants and Mothers As
World Breastfeeding Week Begins,
UNICEF Urges More Support for a Health & Nutrition
Practice That Has No Equal
NEW YORK, 1 August 2002 - Marking the start of World
Breastfeeding Week today, UNICEF encouraged more hospitals
to join the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, noting
that recent studies provide yet more evidence of the many
benefits of breastfeeding for both infants and mothers.
"Breastfeeding is still the best source of nutrition
and growth for infants," said UNICEF Executive Director
Carol Bellamy. "This simple act protects children's
lives in communities around the world, and it also reduces
maternal illnesses. The most recent studies expand our
understanding of the benefits of breastfeeding, making
it clear that more must be done to support this practice."
UNICEF said that not even half of the world's children
are breastfed exclusively for the first six months of
life.
The benefits of breastfeeding are well documented:
· Breastmilk has all the nutrients babies need
to stay healthy and grow
· Breastfeeding boosts children's immune systems,
protecting them from diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections
- two leading causes of infant death
· Breastfeeding helps nurture children and builds
the mother-child bond
· Breastfeeding helps delay the next pregnancy,
giving mother and child time to recover and grow.
Recent research has proven that a woman who breastfeeds
is less likely to get breast cancer, in a comprehensive
study published in The Lancet medical journal. She is
also less likely to get many other forms of cancer.
UNICEF said that the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative,
launched in 1991, is an effort to ensure that all maternity
facilities, whether free standing or in a hospital, support
mothers in making the best infant-feeding choice for them,
free of commercial interests. The ultimate goal of the
Initiative is to empower every woman to make health-based
decisions concerning infant feeding, and, if breastfeeding
is her choice, to support her in breastfeeding her children
exclusively for six months and to continue breastfeeding,
with complementary food, into the second year of life
and beyond.
Nearly every country has an authorized committee to certify
maternity facilities as baby-friendly. Presently some
15,000 facilities in more than 130 countries have been
awarded the status. These facilities help mothers begin
breastfeeding within half an hour of birth, allow new
mothers and their babies to be together 24 hours a day,
and give infants no food other than breastmilk, except
for medical reasons. UNICEF said that the Initiative recognizes
each mother's right to make her decision based on full
and accurate information about feeding options.
"It's not always easy for a mother to breastfeed,"
Bellamy said. "The pressure of family responsibilities,
restrictions in the workplace, and social expectations
can, and often do, interfere with a mother's preference
to exclusively breastfeed her children. Women must be
supported by husbands, communities, healthcare systems,
and grandparents when considering what is best - and they
must be supported to succeed once a choice is made."
* * *
For further information please contact:
Karuna Nundy, UNICEF
Media, New York, knundy@unicef.org, (+1 212) 303-7941
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