With the theme of "watch 25 years of protecting breast feeding", World breast-feeding week 2006 is being observed in various parts of the world including Pakistan from August 1 to 7 with a renewed pledge that all out efforts will continue to be made to protect, promote and support breast-feeding.
World breast-feeding week is co-ordinated every year by the world alliance for breast-feeding action to commemorate the Innocent Declaration. According to the world alliance for breast-feeding action (the organisers of the week), over 60 countries have legislated all or many provisions of the International code of marketing of breast milk substitutes, which regulates the marketing of breast milk substitutes.
In order to promote breast-feeding practices, encouragement, accurate and timely information, humane care during childbirth, advice, reassurance, affirmation, hands-on assistance and practical tips are needed.
It may be mentioned that in 1990, policy makers from 31 governments, representatives of 10 UN agencies and other participants at a WHO/Unicef meeting adopted the Innocent Declaration on the protection, promotion, and support of breast-feeding. During the decade of the 90's, the Innocent Declaration provided momentum for the global breast-feeding movement, particularly in launching the Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative and strengthening implementation of the International code of marketing of breast milk substitutes.
Talking about Global Initiative for Mother Support (GIMS) for breast-feeding, health professionals told Business Recorder that it is a global initiative that focuses on women's needs and rights to adequate and accurate information, support and health care services before, during and after childbirth. The initiative takes a holistic view of women's reproductive cycle, and promotes various measures to help mothers and their infants experience optimal breast-feeding.
Emphasising the need for promoting the trend of breast-feeding, they said that hundreds of thousands of deaths of children could be avoided by promoting breast-feeding, creating awareness about child health and ensuring improved medical services.
They mentioned that diarrhea alone takes the lives of 2.2 million children every year and leaves millions more underweight, mentally and physically stunted and immunosuppressive.
The Word Health Organisation (WHO) estimates that one and a half million infants dies each year because they are not breast-fed. However, despite the proven benefits of breast-feeding, women throughout the world are under pressure to use artificial milk as a result of unethical marketing practices of the baby food industry.
It may also be mentioned that in 1981 the World Health Assembly adopted the International code of marketing of breast-milk substitutes, to ensure that babies, care givers and health workers were protected from commercial pressure to favour artificial feeding. Subsequent resolutions have been adopted since to address new marketing strategies and scientific knowledge and to resolve questions of interpretation.
According to the experts, there is conclusive evidence that breast-feeding confers significant protection against illness and death associated with diarrhea. This is not only because it removes the risk of unsafe water, but also because breast-milk is a living substance containing the mother's antibodies and immuno-globulins.
They said that mothers who breast-fed their children have low risk of developing cancer as compared to others. Stressing the need for launching an aggressive campaign to motivate mothers to breast feed their children for at least six months, they said the mother's milk is the first brain food for a child, without which brain cannot develop properly in the first year of life. Nevertheless, artificial feeding exposed children to risk of infections and other diseases, apart from 'dull mind'.
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