Health experts emphasise breastfeeding benefits during World Breastfeeding Week

By Our Correspondent,Chitwan, Aug. 4: As the country observes World Breastfeeding Week, an annual campaign to raise global awareness and support for breastfeeding, health experts emphasise the numerous benefits of breastfeeding for newborns.

Speaking at an interactive programme held on Saturday to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week, health experts emphasised that breastfeeding benefits both the baby's and the mother’s health

The event highlighted the need for breastfeeding within an hour of a baby’s birth. They underscored that children who are breastfed are less likely to fall ill, become overweight or obese and develop diabetes later in life.

Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure a child's health, they said adding breastmilk is the ideal food for infants as it contains antibodies that protect them against several childhood diseases. 

Speaking at the programme, Prof. Dr. Sunil Mani Pokhrel, Head of the Obstetrics Department at Bharatpur Hospital, stated that timely breastfeeding helps the mother’s placenta to separate and stop bleeding.

Dr. Pokharel said that the problem of breast engorgement in the mother is also a problem that occurs when breastfeeding is not done well. 

“Breastfeeding provides emotional benefits for mothers and children and increases affection between mother and baby,” he added. 

“Ovarian cancer is more common in those who do not breastfeed,” he said, adding that regular breastfeeding can protect mothers from chronic diseases.

He advised mothers to breastfeed their babies at least 14 times a day for the first six months. 

Dr. Shweta Kumari Gupta, a pediatrician at Bharatpur Hospital, emphasised that babies should be exclusively fed with their mother’s milk for the first six months.

“For the first six months, only mother’s milk should be fed, as it provides the baby with nutritious food,” she said. 

She compared the mother’s milk to nectar and emphasised its importance for the physical and mental development of the child. 

She also noted that mothers who avoid breastfeeding are not only risking their life babies’ health but also their own health. 

World Breastfeeding Week kicks off on Thursday with the theme Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.

This annual event, initiated in 1992, is observed in over 120 countries, including Nepal. 

The World Breastfeeding Week aims to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a child’s life, raise awareness among new parents and improve infant health worldwide. 

Breastfeeding, recognised as a fundamental right of newborns, can be categorised into early or complete breastfeeding. 

Exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months provides essential nutrients and immune protection, eliminating the need for additional food.

However, the Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022 revealed a decline in the breastfeeding rate in Nepal. 

In 1996, 75% of women breastfed their babies, but this figure has decreased to 56% as of 2022. This trend highlights the need for increased support and awareness.

The WHO reports that over half a billion working women lack essential maternity protections in national laws. 

In Nepal, the Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Act 2075 guarantees 98 days of fully paid maternity leave to promote and facilitate breastfeeding. 

Additionally, all government, non-government, and private organisations must provide arrangements for women to breastfeed during office hours for up to two years after childbirth. Offices, schools, buses, parks and airports are required to have separate breastfeeding rooms.