Geneva, 31 July 2008 (GAIN) – World Breastfeeding Week from 1 to 7 August draws attention to the urgent need to promote and support breastfeeding to give every child the best possible start in life. Empowering mothers to breastfeed can save millions of lives and give millions of children a healthier future. Breastfeeding promotion is one of the most cost-effective interventions to promote child health.

Breastfeeding babies as early as possible after birth, exclusively breastfeeding them until 6 months of age, and continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age and beyond will significantly reduce child mortality, caused by infection and malnutrition, in developing countries. It is estimated that 3.5 million children die every year of malnutrition, of whom 1.5 million children could be saved by increasing breastfeeding rates.

Current statistics show that the world is far from meeting the WHO/UNICEF recommendation: only about one-third of children are being exclusively breastfed from 0 to 6 months. Exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months should be protected, promoted and supported everywhere, and mothers should be enabled to continue breastfeeding up to 2 years of age and beyond.

Breastfed babies have at least six times greater chance of survival in the early months. Breast milk contains many hundreds of health-enhancing molecules, enzymes, proteins and hormones. It protects the baby from diarrhea and acute respiratory infections, stimulates their immune system, and improves their response to vaccination.

A wide range of measures is needed to support mothers in breastfeeding, including:

• Empower women - Much of women’s work is informal, poorly paid, unrecognized and unprotected by labour legislation, and in many regions they still do not hold equal rights. Empowering women to take care of themselves and their children remains a global priority.
• Change labour laws – While the international recommendation is exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, maternity leave – if granted at all – is often much shorter. Further, especially poor women cannot combine their work with breastfeeding, or their workplace does not accept or enable it. As participation in the global labour force of women is set to increase from 60 to 70 per cent, they must be enabled to combine work with breastfeeding, for example by allowing flexible work hours or providing child care facilities close to the workplace.
• Increase counseling – While breastfeeding is natural and the best food for the newborn, pregnant and lactating women need advice and coaching on breastfeeding. They need access to medical monitoring, dietary advice, and supplements where necessary. Health care workers should encourage breastfeeding as soon as possible after delivery.
• Improve complementary feeding – Many children become malnourished and ill when complementary feeding is introduced inappropriately. It may be introduced too early or too late, or the food, for instance rice or maize porridge, may not contain all the nutrients the infant needs. Ensuring the right complementary foods at the right time is of crucial importance.

Giving babies the golden start in life must start with providing support to the mother or caretaker. Many sectors and organizations can and should contribute to removing the barriers they face. There must be a greater international effort to promote optimal child feeding practices that include adequate breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding so that babies can survive common childhood diseases, perform in school, develop to their full potential, and grow to lead healthy and productive lives in their communities.

Breastfeeding is the golden start for every child, and a golden start for the next generation in the developing world.