.jpg)
While it’s a known fact that a newborn needs mother’s milk for the first six months, pediatricians say some mothers tend to introduce bottle milk very early and this affects infant’s development in a very big way. “For
the first six months, newborns need only mother’s milk. Complementary food should be slowly introduced after six months. Mother’s milk is the first immunization to a child and colostrum( first milk) contains many antibodies. Breast milk is specially made to that particular baby and it’s a mother’s gift to her child,” says Dr Gowri Meena, consultant obstetrician and gynecologist, Apollo Hospitals.
She adds that today’s young mothers know very well that breastfeeding prevents them from breast cancer. “Breastfeeding can be continued till a year or two depending on the comfort of the mothers. We never had any western influence and our state is more pro-breastfeeding,” she says. With an aim at giving awareness to mothers and highlighting the benefits of breastfeeding, every year August 1-7 is observed as World Breastfeeding Week and this year with the theme, Breastfeeding support: Close to mothers.
WHO says under nutrition is associated with more than one third of the global disease burden for children under five. Gynecologists and pediatricians say the country needs some kind of support system that “Women who know how to save the milk in a clean container can do so and it should be used within a few hours,” says Dr Gowri.
Dr Naresh Shanmugam, pediatric gastroenterologist and nutritionist, Global Hospitals, says mothers tend to dilute artificial milk. “First, lactating mothers should understand that cow’s milk should not be diluted. After one year, the milk can be given to the child but it should not be diluted. Studies show that infants who are introduced very early to bottle milk develop allergic disorders in future,” he says.
0 comments:
Post a Comment