A new report says more than 800,000 babies’ lives could be saved every year, if all women began breastfeeding within the first hour of giving birth. Save the Children calls breastfeeding one of the best ways to prevent malnutrition, a major killer of children under age five.
Save the Children CEO Carolyn Miles says it’s vital to begin breastfeeding soon after a child is born.
“It’s extremely critical because to get mothers to actually start breastfeeding can sometimes be the hardest part. And that first milk from mothers, that contains something called colostrum, is an incredibly nutritious form of breast milk and it actually has a lot of immunity powers, as well. And it really only happens in those first couple of hours,” she said.
The report describes colostrum as a child’s “first immunization.” But in some cultures, such as parts of Niger, there’s a myth that colostrum is dangerous.
“One of the biggest barriers that we found, when we looked at this report, to moms’ breastfeeding, is a lot of these cultural beliefs and one of them is that colostrum is, in fact, bad for babies. So, in a lot of places around the world the mothers actually throw it out. And it’s the best thing that you could be giving to your babies. So a lot of this is about behavior change. And those are just old traditions that have been passed down and things that we’re trying to change, obviously,” said Miles.
Many mothers believe their babies need to eat something besides breast milk. Miles said that water, sugar water and tea are not necessary.
“Actually babies don’t need any of those things. To demonstrate this we asked people to watch their animals. Watch the fact that baby animals don’t drink water. They just drink mother’s milk. It’s just the same with human babies. They don’t need anything but breast milk,” she said.
There’s another reason, she said, to start breastfeeding early.
“The earlier moms start breastfeeding the more likely they are to continue breastfeeding for the first six months. And that has tremendous health benefits for babies,” she said.
The head of Save the Children said another obstacle to breastfeeding is a shortage of healthcare workers in developing countries.
“When I went and had my baby at the hospital I had somebody helping me learn how to breastfeed. It’s not the easiest thing in the world. It’s very helpful to have somebody help you learn how to do that. These health workers, with basic knowledge, are really important to help moms start breastfeeding and to keep breastfeeding.”
The report, Super Food for Babies, recommends that every country should ensure minimum maternity leave of at least 14 weeks. And when women do return to work, they should receive support so they can continue to breastfeed.
Miles said that an additional obstacle to breastfeeding is the lobbying practices of some companies that manufacture baby formulas. She said the International Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes says companies cannot directly target their advertising campaigns to mothers, health care workers or hospitals.
She said that great strides have been made in recent years in efforts to reduce child mortality. She says even more lives could be saved if many more women breastfed their babies.
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:同步测试卷6
2017届高考英语一轮复习高频语法专讲专练课件:非谓语动词
2017年高考英语一轮复习试题周周练:周三 Unit3《Travel Journal》(新人教版必修1)
高考英语总复习导学案:Unit5《Nelson Mandela-a modern hero》 名师点津(新人教版必修一)
2017届高考英语一轮复习高频语法专讲专练课件:时态与语态
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:同步测试卷1
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 3《Travel journal 》(新人教版必修1湖北专用)
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:同步测试卷5
2017届高考英语一轮复习高频语法专讲专练课件:动词与动词短语
2017届高考英语一轮复习高频语法专讲专练课件:情态动词
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 2《The Olympic Games》(新人教版必修2湖北专用)
高三英语人教版总复习之语法专项突破课件:语法专项十 定语从句
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:同步测试卷3
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:同步测试卷2
2017年高考英语一轮复习试题周周练:周三 Unit3《Computers》(新人教版必修2)
2017年高考英语一轮复习试题周周练:周四 Unit4《Wildlife Protection》(新人教版必修2)
2017届高考英语一轮复习高频语法专讲专练课件:特殊句式
高三英语人教版总复习之语法专项突破课件:语法专项二 冠词
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit3《Understanding each other》(牛津译林版选修6)
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:高频语法复习6
2017年高考英语一轮复习试题周周练:周五 Unit5《Music》(新人教版必修2)
2017届高考英语一轮复习高频语法专讲专练课件:介词与介词短语
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 5《Music 》(新人教版必修2湖北专用)
2017年高考英语一轮复习试题周周练:周二 Unit2《The Olympic Games》(新人教版必修2)
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 1《Cultural relics》 (新人教版必修2湖北专用)
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 1《Friendship》(新人教版必修1湖北专用)
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 5《Nelson Mandela—a modern hero 》(新人教版必修1湖北专用)
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:Unit 4《Earthquakes 》(新人教版必修1湖北专用)
高三英语人教版总复习之语法专项突破课件:语法专项十六 构词法
2017届高考英语一轮复习精品课件:高频语法复习8
不限 |
英语教案 |
英语课件 |
英语试题 |
不限 |
不限 |
上册 |
下册 |
不限 |