UNICEF has been offering reliable information related to breastfeeding for many years to join organizations struggling to inform the world of how beneficial it is for babies, and for their families and communities, that all newborns are breastfed.
That is why, ensuring the health of the little ones, they have recently assured that Breastfeeding is the first vaccine for babies.
The importance of colostrum
Colostrum is an incredible protection against infections and diseases, and that is why some people know it as "the first vaccine", and who calls it "liquid gold" because In addition to antibodies it contains hundreds of substances with a reason (amino acids, growth factors, vitamins and so on).
And it is important because it is the substance that babies receive in the first days of life, which is the most critical moment in a baby's life: almost half of the deaths in children under five are newborns.
In Babies and more The UN recognizes breastfeeding as a human right for babies and mothers More 800 thousand lives would be saved
According to France Bégin, nutrition consultant for UNICEF, there are more than 800 thousand lives that would be saved every year if all newborns were fed only with breast milk in the first six months of life.
In addition, the ideal for a newborn is to breastfeed as soon as possible. As we read in Metro Ecuador, the consultant has explained that delaying breastfeeding only 24 hours increases the risk of dying in the first month of life by 80%.
These are figures that include, of course, data from disadvantaged countries (the risk in developed countries is not so obvious), but it is shown that non-breastfed babies suffer, on average, more infections and have a different development.
Anywhere and anytime
From UNICEF, breastfeeding on demand is defended, explaining that Babies have to be able to be fed in any place and situation because it is a natural and necessary process for the baby: it is a basic need for food and emotional support that "increases the chances of survival in the first days of life and lengthens future health," says Bégin.
In Babies and more Breastfeeding could save the lives of more than 800,000 children and 20,000 women a yearNothing new, but you have to keep informing
Actually, UNICEF is not saying anything we don't know yet. But that does not mean that it is necessary that they continue to do so because women, couples, families and communities must know this information.
And is that only 43% of babies reach the six-month figure of exclusive breastfeeding which has been recommended for 20 years. They are better breastfeeding rates than years ago, but there is still a lot to happen in a more logical way: if the ideal for a baby is to breastfeed for six months, and if it is also beneficial for the woman, the expected is that they are majority Babies do it.
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In Babies and more | We have read the indications given to recent mothers in 1978 and now we understand our mothers, Babies fed with breast milk accept new foods better, the UN recognizes breastfeeding as a human right for babies and mothers
