Breast Milk: An Optimal Food

Jenny Pronczuk, Gerald Moy, and Constanza Vallenas

Environ Health Perspect. 2004 Sep;112(13):A722-3.

Human breast milk offers the optimal nutrition for all infants and provides immunological, developmental, psychological, economic, and practical advantages when compared to artificial feeding. For proper growth, development, and health, infants should be exclusively breastfed with no other food or drink–not even water–for their first 6 months of life [World Health Organization (WHO) 2001]; they should then receive nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods while breast-feeding continues up to 24 months of age or beyond.

Given the considerable benefits of breast-feeding for mothers and children everywhere, special efforts are being undertaken by the WHO and partners to promote it in all countries. The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding (WHO 2003) recommends critical interventions such as the implementation and monitoring of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and the subsequent relevant World Health Assembly resolutions; the adoption and monitoring of maternity entitlements consistent with the International Labour Organization (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention (ILO 2000); and the expanded implementation of the WHO/UNICEF Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (WHO/UNICEF 1992). Education of women as well as men about the benefits of breast-feeding is being promoted to establish broader social acceptance of and support for breast-feeding.

A teljes cikk itt olvasható.

A cikkel kapcsolatban Adriano Cattaneo megjegyzését itt olvashatja.