Breastfeeding: = Nature's Way of Improving Infant Health

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Breastfeeding: Nature's Way = of=20 Improving Infant Health
By William = Eagle=20 Washington 03 July 2007

report on breastfeeding and birth=20 spacing 3D"audio

Listen to report on breastfeeding and = birth=20 spacing

In Africa, millions of pregnant women and = children under=20 five die because of poor maternal and pre-natal care. But = health=20 care specialists say those numbers can be dramatically = reduced by=20 following a few easy and inexpensive methods to ensure the = good=20 health of mothers and their newborns. From Washington, = reporter=20 William Eagle tells us about one =E2=80=93 = breastfeeding.

3D"A

A Mozambiquan mother = breastfeeds her=20 baby in Meringue (file = photo)
Forget=20 expensive medicines and complicated instructions. Some = solutions for=20 saving the lives of mothers and infants have been around for = centuries and continue to work today.

One of the simplest is feeding newborns exclusively with = the=20 mother=E2=80=99s milk for several months. The method is not = universally=20 followed. In some cultures, taboos discourage dependence on=20 breastfeeding; in others, the use of enriched powdered or = dry milk=20 has been encouraged. But experts warn that adding other = liquids can=20 introduce germs into the baby=E2=80=99s system that may lead = to diarrhea and=20 other illnesses.

Mary Beth Power is a reproductive health advisor for Save = the=20 Children in Westport, Connecticut.

"When you look at children exclusively breast-fed in many = countries, it is low =E2=80=93 like one percent in Niger," = she said.

"In many hot and dry places," she continued,"people = assume the=20 baby needs water, because they can=E2=80=99t see how much = milk the baby is=20 taking in. People [also] introduce other foods that are = considered=20 necessary, like=E2=80=A6special teas or honey water to = sweeten a child=E2=80=99s=20 disposition. All those things introduce potential for = infection,=20 whereas breast milk is not only the best food for babies, = but has=20 anti-infective property. If you expressed breast milk into a = cup it=20 would kill germs in the cup =E2=80=93 it=E2=80=99s like [the = commercial=20 disinfectant] Lysol in the milk =E2=80=93 it can reduce the = infection or any=20 infective properties inside baby=E2=80=99s gut."

Especially nutritious is colostrum, the first of the = breast milk,=20 which is rich in carbohydrates, proteins and = anti-bodies. =20 Doctors say it also promotes an infant=E2=80=99s first = stool, which includes=20 dead bloods cells and other waste and helps prevent = jaundice.

She said, "The other taboo against breast milk is = that=E2=80=A6colostrum=20 does not look like milk. It is usually yellowish in color. = Many=20 people think there is something wrong with that =E2=80=93 = that it is=20 something to be expelled. So people will express the milk = and not=20 feed the baby for a few days until the mother=E2=80=99s milk = came in, or=20 feed the baby something else and throw out the colostrum and = provide=20 breast milk later, but that colostrum has those = anti-infective=20 properties. It is like the baby=E2=80=99s first vaccination, = so the immune=20 properties inside the mother are transferred to baby through = breast=20 milk. That=E2=80=99s another reason why these breastfeeding = practices are=20 sub-optimal in many countries."

Prolonged breastfeeding is also a natural way to promote=20 birth-spacing, another way of ensuring the health of mother = and her=20 newborn. Health experts say an optimal period between births = is=20 between three and five years.

Power says a woman who breastfeeds exclusively is not = likely to=20 ovulate for six months. She says in some countries health = experts=20 recommend LAM (Lactational Amenorrhea Method), whereby a = woman=20 breastfeeds for six months and also adds another method of = family=20 planning.

LAM has been used successfully in Egypt, where Save the = Children=20 health experts say even local religious authorities have = accepted=20 the idea.

According to the group's country director in Cairo, = Patrick=20 Crump, "In Islam as in Christianity, there are the same = sorts of=20 debates [over controlling births]. Originally, the position = of Islam=20 was that birth control was not something that you find in = the Koran=20 =E2=80=93 it was a foreign concept. But over time, public = health officials=20 [and] religious authorities have found citations in the = Koran that=20 promote birth-spacing."

"There is a sura [chapter] of the Koran," he = continued,"that says=20 if a mother is still breastfeeding and gives birth, she is=20 penalizing or killing both children. So, Muslim authorities = have=20 started promoting the concept of birth spacing=E2=80=A6. You = should wait 24=20 months; the normal breastfeeding period is 18-24 months. = Mothers are=20 encouraged to not have another child until breastfeeding the = previous child."

Religious authorities have not come out in support of any = particular family planning method to help space births. But = experts=20 say women receive counseling after delivery and many use a = wide=20 range of available birth control methods, including condoms, = intrauterine devices (IUDs) and depovera, the shot that = includes the=20 hormone progestin to suppress ovulation.

Save the Children says the Egyptian government has made=20 impressive gains in improving maternal and child health over = the=20 past 15 years. Maternal morality has been cut by 52 percent. = Meanwhile, infant deaths in the first year of life have been = reduced=20 by over 63 percent and mortality in the first month of life = by a=20 third. Health experts also credit Egypt not only for = ensuring=20 improved care in cities, but also in rural and other needy = areas of=20 the country.

3D"Focus =20 Feedback

We'd like to hear what you = have to=20 say. Let us know what you think of this report and = other news=20 and features on our website. Email your views about = what is=20 happening in Africa to: javascri= pt:main.compose('new','t=3Dafrica@voanews.com').Please=20 include your name and phone number if you would like = us to=20 include your comments on our programs.=20

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