Boosting breastfeeding in Bangladesh

Breastfeeding is the first and single most important and inexpensive public health intervention for all newborn, infants and young children with a lifelong impact on health and survival. In infancy, no gift is more precious than breastfeeding; yet barely one in three infants is exclusively breastfed during the first six months of life.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of life, are exclusively breastfed for six months, with timely introduction of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond.

With a view to increasing and sustaining the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding, World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August around the world. To enable a mother to breastfeed, she needs to be supported by a team including family, community, healthcare professionals, policy makers. Most women is able to breastfeed with proper support.

Thus, everyone has a role to play to promote and ensure breastfeeding. A women expecting should plan breastfeeding before her baby is born. Families and health professionals can explain benefits of breastfeeding during antenatal period.

Right after the baby is born, we should encourage skin to skin contact between the mother and her baby and strongly encourage initiating breastfeeding within an hour. Caregivers can help recognise the signs when baby is ready to feed and also help proper positioning of baby during breastfeeding.

If the baby is born in facility, the caregivers concerned should give the mother confidence and support to continue breastfeeding and reassure that breast milk is all that her baby needs for healthy growth in first six months. Mother should be encouraged to take plenty of healthy food, water and rest.

Father also can help his partner to support in breastfeeding his baby. He should help in household work to reduce the stress for his partner and make sure she gets enough rest. Father can burp the baby after a feed which helps digestion and removal of gas from stomach. Other family members can also play a crucial part. They can also boost the confidence of mother and reduce the workload of mother by helping in house work and taking care of the other children of that mother.

The workplace policy and environment can play a major role in protecting and supporting breastfeeding. In work, enough maternity leave should be ensured and there should be friendly place to breastfeed or express and store milk. Being a new mum, it is not always easy to balance work and feeding her baby. Thus, colleagues should also extend their hand to help new mum in continuing breastfeeding.

Breastfeeding is crucial for baby but it is not a single handed job of the mother. In order for mothers and families to practice optimal breastfeeding practice, teamwork is thus essential. Healthcare professionals specially midwives will help determine the success or the failure of breastfeeding and subsequent health of the newborn throughout the life course. Home based support by community health workers specially trained in breastfeeding support, during pregnancy, first week after birth and beyond in very effective in a country like Bangladesh.

Source: World Health Organisation