Breastfeeding support to bring benefits to more babies and mums
1 August 2024, Cairo, Egypt – Breastfeeding has proven benefits for infants and mums. Yet many women do not breastfeed for as long as they’d like as they lack a supportive environment. This year, the World Breastfeeding Week campaign centres on “Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all”.
Breastfeeding is one of the best ways to ensure a child’s health and survival. WHO recommends that infants are exclusively breastfed until 6 months of age. But, globally, less than half of infants under 6 months are exclusively breastfed.
In the Eastern Mediterranean Region, only about 35% of infants under 6 months are exclusively breastfed. This means that nearly 2 out of 3 infants are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended 6 months – a rate that has not improved in 2 decades.
The World Breastfeeding Week campaign from 1 to 7 August recognizes breastfeeding mums and shows policy-makers, health workers, families and society how to support mothers to make breastfeeding work.
Breast-milk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, and clean and contains antibodies that help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breast-milk provides all the energy and nutrients an infant needs for the first months of life. It continues to meet as much as half or more of a child’s nutritional needs in the second half of the first year, and up to one-third of these needs in the second year of life.
Studies show that breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese and are
