Breastfeeding Saves Lives!

Packaging Evidence
Regional
2013
As a mother, breastfeeding is one of the best ways to give your baby the healthiest start to life. By putting an infant to the breast within an hour of birth (a practise also known as ‘early initiation’), and thereafter maintaining this as the sole form of feeding for the infant’s first six months, a mother can ensure that important antibodies will be passed on, protecting the baby from life-threatening diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.

As a mother, breastfeeding is one of the best ways to give your baby the healthiest start to life. By putting an infant to the breast within an hour of birth (a practise also known as ‘early initiation’), and thereafter maintaining this as the sole form of feeding for the infant’s first six months, a mother can ensure that important antibodies will be passed on, protecting the baby from life-threatening diseases such as diarrhoea and pneumonia.Research carried out by the World Health Organization has shown that children between the ages of 6 months and 2 years whose main source of nutrients come from breastmilk, and whose diet is supplemented by healthy foods, often score highly in intelligence tests, and are probably less likely to suffer from obesity and diabetes later on in life.But breastfeeding is also a healthy choice for mothers! It can not only help to prevent severe bleeding after delivery, called postpartum haemorrhage, but can reduce the risk of developing breast and ovarian cancer.

So why is breast milk preferable to formula?

Formula does not contain the antibodies needed to build a baby’s healthy immune system, and in addition there is also the risk that the water used to prepare infant formula or sterilize a bottle and teat may be contaminated, and infect a baby with life-threatening bacteria. In countries where safe water is not guaranteed, this is a particularly high risk."In Ghana women with HIV are advised to follow WHO guidance on breastfeeding and HIV. See here for the Ghana AIDS Commission’s resources page with links to Government strategies, plans and information on HIV."Ghana is among 7 countries to have reduced Mother to Child Transmission of HIV (MTCT) by 50% since 2009 due to the impact made in addressingthe broad range of HIV-related prevention, care, treatment and support needs of pregnant women, mothers, their children and families. Read this MamaYe Facts and Figures on Breastfeeding to learn more about the benefits and share the news.This summary was updated in July 2014.

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