Breastfeeding
Food security for the child
The history of human breastfeeding practice is certainly as old as the existence of human being on the earth. Still, the advantages of breastfeeding are being reinvented every day. Recently published series on child survival in the Lancet revealed that breastfeeding has been shown to reduce 13% of all under five children death in the world. Breastfeedingis considered as the best source of nourishment for infants and young children. Although having numerous advantages, fewer than 40% of infants under six months of age are currently exclusively breastfed worldwide. Active movement and steps should be taken to make exclusive breastfeeding a universal practice. Breast milk is the first food security options for a child. Because the baby has physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food — breast milk to meet their all dietary needs. Breast milk has all the three determinants of food security which are — accessibility, availability and utilisation. Accessibility: Milk is produced at the breast as and when a child is born. Availability: Breast milk is available when a baby demands for all the time. It requires no preparation and valuable in its sterile from at correct temperature without having no cost in money. Utilisation: It is highly nutritious, safe and hygienic. Breast milk is almost completely digested and utilised for proper growth and development by the child. It reduces tendency of a child to obesity and contains antimicrobial factors as well as provide several bio-chemical advantages. Emphasis should be placed on early and exclusive breastfeeding for its substantial benefits in reducing child mortality and morbidity. Sub-optimal breastfeeding is responsible for 45% of neonatal infectious deaths, 30% of diarrhoeal deaths and 18% of acute respiratory deaths in children under five. To have the best benefits of breastfeeding both for mother and baby, optimal breastfeeding is the answer. Optimal breastfeeding means that mothers need to initiate breastfeeding within about an hour of birth, give frequent, on-demand feeding (which include night feeds), exclusive breastfeeding until the child is about 6 months of age and continue breastfeeding well until the baby is 2 years. Breast milk is the right of a child to survive, to develop, to participate and to be protected. It is urgent and most imperative that all our efforts, policies and strategies are put together to promote and protect breast feeding for healthy, wealthy and nutritionally well future generation. To ensure food security for the baby there is no alternative of breastfeeding.
The writer works at Dushtha Shasthya Kendra (DSK). E-mail: tofail.azad@gmail.com
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