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Breast-feeding: An effective cure for many child-related diseases
KATHMANDU, JAN 07 - It has been scientifically proved that 13 per cent child diseases can be prevented through exclusive breast-feeding for six months. This was revealed today at a "National Sensitisation Workshop on Breast-feeding Promotion" held at the initiative of Pro Public.
Revealing the aforementioned fact Dr. Arun Gupta, Regional Coordinator of International Baby Food Action Network Asia Pacific, said, "This means of 75,000 infants under the age of 5 who die every year in Nepal, at least 10,000 can be saved from breast feeding."
Mentioning that artificial milk substitute formulas as one of the chief hindrance in promoting breast-feeding, Gupta stressed the need for effective laws dealing with such products.
Similarly, Prof. Dr. Prakash Sundar Shrestha of Institute of Medicine said Breast feeding is almost universal in the country as Nepal Demographic Health Survey 2001 states 98 per cent children are breast-fed at some time. But he said the existence of early initiation of feeding within half an hour and exclusive breast feeding for six months still requires improvement.
Stressing the need for exclusive breast-feeding till six months of birth Shrestha said, "Mother’s milk provides all the nutritional need of the baby till then and is very important for child health as it transfers all the antidotes against the disease that the mother had in the past."
He pointed out the lack of clear concept on exclusive breast-feeding even among health practitioners as one of the chief hindrances in the promotion of exclusive breast-feeding among others.
Likewise, Sharmila Parajuli, advocate of Pro Public, presented a paper on Breast-feeding Promotion Laws and Class Action in Nepal. Expressing the need for adequate nutritional process, Parajuli said, "Adequate nutrition to infant cannot be assured without the promotion of breast-feeding."Posted on: 2004-01-08 03:28
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