Statement by Catherine Russell (UNICEF Executive Director) and Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus (WHO Director-General)
https://www.who.int/news/item/31-07-2024-on-world-breastfeeding-week--un...
'In the last 12 years, the number of infants under six months of age globally who are exclusively breastfed has increased by more than 10%. This means 48% of infants worldwide now benefit from this healthy start in life. It translates to hundreds of thousands of babies whose lives have been saved by breastfeeding...'
Breastfeeding - Overview
https://www.who.int/health-topics/breastfeeding#tab=tab_1
'Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. However, contrary to WHO recommendations, fewer than half of infants under 6 months old are exclusively breastfed.
'Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breastmilk provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one third during the second year of life.
'Breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life. Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
'Inappropriate marketing of breast-milk substitutes continues to undermine efforts to improve breastfeeding rates and duration worldwide.'
QUESTION (NPW): To what extent are mothers (and mothers-to-be) aware that breastfeeding will not only help a baby to survive, but that it may also promote the child's cognitive development, even increasing their intelligence in later childhood and throughout their lives? The association between breastfeeding and intelligence is complex and I don't think there is conclusive evidence of a cause-and-effect, but the evidence is very suggestive of an association.
Best wishes, Neil
HIFA profile: Neil Pakenham-Walsh is coordinator of HIFA (Healthcare Information For All), a global health community that brings all stakeholders together around the shared goal of universal access to reliable healthcare information. HIFA has 20,000 members in 180 countries, interacting in four languages and representing all parts of the global evidence ecosystem. HIFA is administered by Global Healthcare Information Network, a UK-based nonprofit in official relations with the World Health Organization. Email: neil@hifa.org
