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This is Gwen Outen with the VOA Special English Development Report.
Health experts commonly advise mothers to feed babies only breast milk
for the first six months. They say no other food is more valuable to the
development of a child. The World Health Organization says children can be
breastfed as part of their diet for up to two years or longer. Yet it says
only one out of three babies is fed only breast milk for even just four
months.
Breast milk helps protect children from infections and disease. It can
prevent common sicknesses, such as diarrhea and pneumonia. And it can help babies
recover more quickly if they do get sick.
Studies also show that mothers who breastfeed reduce their risk of
cancer in the reproductive organs. Breastfeeding also saves money,
compared to milk substitutes.
The first week in August is World Breastfeeding Week. The campaign this
year involved the idea of exclusive breastfeeding. The World Alliance for
Breastfeeding Action say babies can be fed drops or syrups with extra vitamins and
minerals. But exclusive means no other foods or drinks for six months.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF, the United Nations Children's
Fund, offer some steps for mothers. First, they say breastfeeding should
start within the first hour after a baby's birth. Second, the baby should
not receive any other food or drink, including water. Third, babies should
be breastfed whenever they are hungry - day or night. And, lastly, the
agencies say there should be no use of bottles, pacifiers or other equipment.
International health experts say traditional ways to measure child
growth do not recognize things like the importance of breastfeeding. So
the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation is giving more than six million
dollars to the W.H.O. for a six-year project. The money will be used to
develop new tools to measure the health and well-being of young people.
Current growth standards describe how children grow at different times.
The new standards will also be linked to motor development. Experts say
the message here is that physical growth is not the only part of normal
development.
Doctor Mercedes de Onis heads the W.H.O. project. She says the current
growth standards used by 99 countries do not support international health
goals. She notes that one of these goals is to increase breastfeeding.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill Moss.
This is Gwen Outen. | 
