UNICEF UK News :: News item :: Breastfeeding provides = critical protection for Iraqi infants

Latest=20 news

Search=20 news archive

Subscribe=20 to = e-newsletter

Photo=20 galleries

All = galleries

All = issues

Campaigns

Emergencies

High Profile=20 = Supporters

Visits=20 to UNICEF's work

UNICEF=20 UK Director in Northern=20 Kenya

Bjork=20 in Banda = Aceh

The=20 Education team in = Kenya

Ewan=20 McGregor in = Malawi

Jemima=20 Khan in=20 = Kenya

Other=20 news

RSS=20 news=20 = feed

=AB=20 Back

Emergency = info

General=20 Emergency Fund

= Donate=20 online to UNICEF's emergency fund. =

Latest info General Emergency Fund=20

full=20 listing

	Children affected by Peru=92s earthquake = need=20 immediate support
	After Jamaica Hurricane Dean heads for=20 Mexico
	UNICEF ready to respond as Hurricane Dean = hits=20 Jamaica
	UNICEF provides support to the earthquake = victims=20 in Peru
	UNICEF responds to flood crisis in DPR=20 = Korea

Other stories on = Breastfeeding full=20 listing

	Call to close legal loopholes on = advertising of=20 baby milk formula
	Breastfeeding within an hour of birth can = reduce=20 infant mortality
	Baby-led weaning and the Baby Friendly=20 = Initiative

Other stories related to Iraq = full=20 listing

	UNICEF and UNHCR joint appeal to get = Iraqi children=20 back to school
	UNICEF concerned at conditions for = vulnerable=20 children in Iraq
	UNICEF calls for aid to Iraqi=20 = children

About = RSS

=AB=20 Back

As Iraq=92s summer heat climbs, UNICEF is urgently calling for = mothers to=20 exclusively breastfeed young babies under six months of age, both to = prevent=20 dangerous waterborne diseases and to improve nutrition.

The children=92s agency warned that the combination of heat, unsafe = water and=20 unhygienic sanitary conditions in many of Iraq=92s cities and temporary = camps=20 could spark a diarrhoea outbreak in very young children, causing = dehydration,=20 malnutrition and possibly even death.

Roger Wright, UNICEF=92s Representative for Iraq, said just over one = million=20 babies were born in Iraq over the last 12 months, at least 40,000 of = them to=20 displaced families =96 many of them living in camps. Exclusive = breastfeeding=20 provides the very best start to a baby=92s life and costs families = nothing. The=20 policy of distributing infant formula free to all infants as part of = Iraq=92s=20 Public Distribution System (PDS) for food rations could be, Wright said, = a=20 =93recipe for disaster in current conditions=94, particularly if = prepared with=20 unsafe water.

=93Dehydration resulting from diarrhoea caused by contaminated water = and poor=20 sanitation is already Iraq=92s biggest killer of young children,=94 he = said. =93In an=20 unhygienic environment worsened by displacement and violence, exclusive=20 breastfeeding is the best protection that can be given to Iraqi = babies.=94

He stressed that newborns of displaced mothers living in temporary = shelters=20 or abandoned buildings are at particularly high risk from diarrhoea. In = Najaf=20 Governorate, where up to 50,000 displaced people are being accommodated, = many of=20 them in temporary camps, diarrhoea rates are twice the seasonal average. = Unsafe=20 water and poor sanitation is to blame for almost 90 per cent of Iraq=92s = diarrhoea=20 cases.

Dr. Nidhal, Manager of the Breastfeeding Programme for Iraq=92s = Ministry of=20 Health, noted that Iraq=92s rate of exclusive breastfeeding was = worryingly low, at=20 just 25 per cent for infants under six months. The free distribution of = infant=20 formula through the PDS is a negative factor in contributing to these = low rates,=20 discouraging the traditional and much better exclusive breastfeeding. =

=93Breast milk is the best possible nourishment for children and = contains=20 everything they need to be healthy for the first six months,=94 she = said. =93It=20 protects against diarrhoea from contaminated water, and also provides = vital=20 antibodies against pneumonia and other illnesses that could affect many = Iraqi=20 children during infancy. Mothers must not risk any other food or = additional=20 water for their young babies.=94

She urged new mothers, particularly those in camps, to follow the = global=20 guidelines for feeding infants and young children: exclusive = breastfeeding for=20 the first six months, and then continued breastfeeding with appropriate=20 complementary foods until two years old.

She stressed that breastfeeding should start within the first hour of = life to=20 give the maximum possible benefit to babies and stimulate the production = of=20 breast milk. This act alone has the potential to prevent 16 per cent of = newborn=20 deaths =96 a key theme of the 2007 World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated = during the=20 first week of August.

Roger Wright called on Iraq=92s government to reinforce national = compliance=20 with the International Code on Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes. He = also=20 urged Iraq=92s communities to give new mothers special care and support = to help=20 them breastfeed successfully. =93Exclusive breastfeeding is the = single most=20 powerful means of protecting the health of Iraqi babies during this time = of=20 crisis,=94 he said.

*******

For further information, please contact the UNICEF UK Press Office, = 020 7430=20 0162 or media@unicef.org.uk

=A92007=20 UNICEF UK Registered Charity No:107261

=20

Breastfeeding provides critical protection for Iraqi = infantsNews item 13 August=20 2007

Breastfeeding provides critical protection for Iraqi = infants
News item 13 August=20 2007