Optimal Goals on Infant and Young Child Feeding
Nona D. Andaya-Castillo, IBCLC
In 2002, the World Health Organization and UNICEF issued the Global Strategy based on various scientific studies showing that indeed breastfeeding is critical in ensuring maternal and child health. Nothing can replace mother’s milk.
As breastfeeding protects the child from malnutrition and a host of life-threatening diseases like diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) it also protects mothers from anemia, various forms of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and even rheumatism!
WHO and UNICEF jointly developed the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding because malnutrition has been responsible, directly or indirectly, for 60% of the 10.9 million deaths annually among children under five.
Well over two-thirds of these deaths, which are often associated with inappropriate feeding practices, occur during the first year of life. Those who survive from the formula milk menace get sick more often and suffer immediate, short-term and life-long adverse consequences.
In the Philippines, 16,000 children die annually due to lack of breastfeeding. These deaths can be easily prevented if our society would promote, protect and support breastfeeding mothers and children.
To concretely imagine how many children are these, the Araneta Coliseum, one of the largest coliseums in Metro Manila has the capacity to accommodate this number of people! This is practically a massacre of innocent children!
Read the labels on the cans the next time you visit the supermarket. Formula is not sterile and the World Health Organization identified Enterobacter Sakazakii as one of the harmful microorganism that can be found in formula milk. It can cause serious infections like meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis and bacteremia.
Nurturers of the Earth's leaders exposed contaminants of formula milk and initiated a national campaign with a legal battle as one of the highlights of this campaign.
Parents should aim for the following infant and young child feeding goals to get the maximum benefits that breastfeeding can give to both mother and child:
Goal 1:
As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.
No Formula
Parents are exposing their children to a lot of hazards when they give their children formula milk. Even the US Food and Drug Authority acknowledges that cow's milk is the top food allergen. It also contains contaminants.
No Water/No Glucose Water
Even in extremely warm climates, breastmilk can satisfy thirst. Giving water to the baby who is below six months may cause diarrhea and malnutrition.
No Teas/No Juices
There is also no need to give infants teas or juices.
No Vitamins
Breastmilk is the only complete food for children. If mothers are malnourished, they can be given additional food by the community instead of giving supplements to the baby.
Goal 2:
Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.
Providing sound and culture-specific nutrition counseling to mothers of young children and recommending the widest possible use of indigenous foodstuffs will help ensure that local foods are prepared and fed safely in the home.
Indigenous foods are nature’s potent medicines with many healing properties that cannot be found in imported and processed foods. These foods abound in the environment, a testimony of God’s love, wisdom and generosity. Nature, with its own rhythm based on the country’s climate and seasons creates food that is appropriate for the human body. With its perfect design, it provides the suitable fuel that enhances our bodies’ tremendous capacity to nurture, heal and regenerate.
During summer for example, nature produces succulent vegetables and fruits to provide extra water needed during that season. During rainy season, nature produces vegetables and fruits that are sour (high in Vitamin C to strengthen the immune system against cough and colds) or high in fat (to keep us warm). Leafy vegetables abound the whole year round.
Goal 3:
Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.
At this point when the child is eating and gets a large portion of his nutritional requirements from complementary foods, breastfeeding still plays an important role to meet these needs.
When leaders of Nurturers of the Earth met former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide while he was working in New York, USA as the Philippine Ambassador to the UN, he unabashedly proclaimed "I love my Mother SO MUCH!" He was proud to inform us that his mother breastfed him until he was four years of age!
There are many advantages of breastfeeding beyond two years!
To maintain or even increase your breastmilk supply, breastfeed first before offering food to your baby at six months.
Besides, breastmilk has properties that will protect your child from harmful micro-organisms or allergens. It will coat the immature gut and will prevent the entry of these foreign bodies to your child's bloodstream.
Analyzing a WHO graph, one will notice that breastmilk continues to be a huge part of the child's food until about 2 and a half years old when 50% of his nutritional needs should come from breastmilk. The jagged ends of the graph at three years old means that breastfeeding need not be terminated but it can continue as long as the mother and baby/child like. According to anthropological studies, mammals like us breastfeed from 2-7 years!
Breastmilk continues to be major source of nutrients of a young child. From 5-6 months onwards, a child consumes about 750 ml (3/4 of 1 liter) of breast milk. Breastmilk helps prevent malnutrition among young children.
However, the role of breastfeeding at this time is not only nutritional and emotional bonding but also immunological as well.
Breastmilk contains 3,000,000 germ-killing cells per teaspoon! For example, at the age of five, if a breastfeeding child can get only five teaspoons of breastmilk a day, then that means, he gets 15 million germ-killing cells. A woman has practically a medicine cabinet inside her breast!
Read Follow-Up Milk is Not Necessary!
As breastfeeding protects the child from malnutrition and a host of life-threatening diseases like diarrhea and acute respiratory tract infections (ARI) it also protects mothers from anemia, various forms of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, osteoporosis and even rheumatism!
WHO and UNICEF jointly developed the Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding because malnutrition has been responsible, directly or indirectly, for 60% of the 10.9 million deaths annually among children under five.
Well over two-thirds of these deaths, which are often associated with inappropriate feeding practices, occur during the first year of life. Those who survive from the formula milk menace get sick more often and suffer immediate, short-term and life-long adverse consequences.
In the Philippines, 16,000 children die annually due to lack of breastfeeding. These deaths can be easily prevented if our society would promote, protect and support breastfeeding mothers and children.
To concretely imagine how many children are these, the Araneta Coliseum, one of the largest coliseums in Metro Manila has the capacity to accommodate this number of people! This is practically a massacre of innocent children!
Read the labels on the cans the next time you visit the supermarket. Formula is not sterile and the World Health Organization identified Enterobacter Sakazakii as one of the harmful microorganism that can be found in formula milk. It can cause serious infections like meningitis, necrotizing enterocolitis and bacteremia.
Nurturers of the Earth's leaders exposed contaminants of formula milk and initiated a national campaign with a legal battle as one of the highlights of this campaign.
Parents should aim for the following infant and young child feeding goals to get the maximum benefits that breastfeeding can give to both mother and child:
Goal 1:
As a global public health recommendation, infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health.
No Formula
Parents are exposing their children to a lot of hazards when they give their children formula milk. Even the US Food and Drug Authority acknowledges that cow's milk is the top food allergen. It also contains contaminants.
No Water/No Glucose Water
Even in extremely warm climates, breastmilk can satisfy thirst. Giving water to the baby who is below six months may cause diarrhea and malnutrition.
No Teas/No Juices
There is also no need to give infants teas or juices.
No Vitamins
Breastmilk is the only complete food for children. If mothers are malnourished, they can be given additional food by the community instead of giving supplements to the baby.
Goal 2:
Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods.
Providing sound and culture-specific nutrition counseling to mothers of young children and recommending the widest possible use of indigenous foodstuffs will help ensure that local foods are prepared and fed safely in the home.
Indigenous foods are nature’s potent medicines with many healing properties that cannot be found in imported and processed foods. These foods abound in the environment, a testimony of God’s love, wisdom and generosity. Nature, with its own rhythm based on the country’s climate and seasons creates food that is appropriate for the human body. With its perfect design, it provides the suitable fuel that enhances our bodies’ tremendous capacity to nurture, heal and regenerate.
During summer for example, nature produces succulent vegetables and fruits to provide extra water needed during that season. During rainy season, nature produces vegetables and fruits that are sour (high in Vitamin C to strengthen the immune system against cough and colds) or high in fat (to keep us warm). Leafy vegetables abound the whole year round.
Goal 3:
Thereafter, to meet their evolving nutritional requirements, infants should receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breastfeeding continues for up to two years of age or beyond.
At this point when the child is eating and gets a large portion of his nutritional requirements from complementary foods, breastfeeding still plays an important role to meet these needs.
When leaders of Nurturers of the Earth met former Supreme Court Chief Justice Hilario Davide while he was working in New York, USA as the Philippine Ambassador to the UN, he unabashedly proclaimed "I love my Mother SO MUCH!" He was proud to inform us that his mother breastfed him until he was four years of age!
There are many advantages of breastfeeding beyond two years!
To maintain or even increase your breastmilk supply, breastfeed first before offering food to your baby at six months.
Besides, breastmilk has properties that will protect your child from harmful micro-organisms or allergens. It will coat the immature gut and will prevent the entry of these foreign bodies to your child's bloodstream.
Analyzing a WHO graph, one will notice that breastmilk continues to be a huge part of the child's food until about 2 and a half years old when 50% of his nutritional needs should come from breastmilk. The jagged ends of the graph at three years old means that breastfeeding need not be terminated but it can continue as long as the mother and baby/child like. According to anthropological studies, mammals like us breastfeed from 2-7 years!
Breastmilk continues to be major source of nutrients of a young child. From 5-6 months onwards, a child consumes about 750 ml (3/4 of 1 liter) of breast milk. Breastmilk helps prevent malnutrition among young children.
However, the role of breastfeeding at this time is not only nutritional and emotional bonding but also immunological as well.
Breastmilk contains 3,000,000 germ-killing cells per teaspoon! For example, at the age of five, if a breastfeeding child can get only five teaspoons of breastmilk a day, then that means, he gets 15 million germ-killing cells. A woman has practically a medicine cabinet inside her breast!
Read Follow-Up Milk is Not Necessary!
