Wednesday, August 23, 2006

Mother's Milk Saves Lives (CorpWatch)

click to read more...Although experts say that breastfeeding gives children the best start in life, protecting them from life-threatening diseases and providing essential nutrients, barely a third of all infants in developing countries are exclusively breastfed for the first six months.

"Breast milk contains exactly the nutrients that the infant needs, helping the infant's development, with breastfed children performing better on intelligence tests than formula-fed children," Randa Jarudi Saadeh, a scientist at the Nutrition for Health and Development Department of the World Health Organisation, told IPS.

"Furthermore, breastfeeding helps mother and infant bond," she said.

Human milk is the ideal nourishment for infants' survival, growth and development. According to medical studies, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life stimulates babies' immune systems and protects them from life-threatening diseases such as diarrhea and acute respiratory infections -- two of the main causes of infant mortality in developing countries.

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