A MESSAGE TO MOTHERS EVERYWHERE: FEEDING BABY THE NATURAL WAY IS BEST
▶ As breastfeeding awareness campaign celebrates its 25th anniversary, supporters say it is as important as ever
Mothers across the country yesterday spoke out in support of World Breastfeeding Week, and the benefits from the practice they and their children had enjoyed.
Rand Fansheh, a 31-year-old Jordanian mother of two, said her mother used to tell her that each day you breastfeed adds a year to a child’s life.
“My mother and grandmother have always encouraged breastfeeding, saying it will add to the baby’s health and life, and I took their advice with my two boys,” said Ms Fansheh, who lives in Fujairah city.
“It boosts the child’s immune system and helps the mother lose weight after pregnancy, despite all the myths that it affects the shape of the breast and makes women gain weight.”
Breastfeeding has benefits for mother and baby, reducing the risk of infection and chances of cot death, said Dr Yusra Abo Hamed at the start of World Breastfeeding Week yesterday.
She said it also helps to develop an emotional bond between mother and child, and urged more new mothers to make an effort to feed naturally.
“For babies, it has long-term benefits because it reduces the baby’s risk of infections, diarrhoea and vomiting, which results in fewer visits to hospital,” said the specialist in public health and preventive medicine.
“It also reduces cot death [sudden infant death syndrome], childhood leukaemia, Type 2 diabetes, obesity and cardiovascular disease later in life.
“For mothers, the more they breastfeed, the greater the benefits, because it lowers the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis, cardiovascular disease and obesity.”
This year is the 25th year of World Breastfeeding Week. With the hashtag #WBW2017, organisers are trying to attract political support, participation of young people and widen their pool of supporters.
The World Health Assembly wants to see at least 50 per cent of mothers worldwide exclusively breastfeeding for the first six months by 2025.
Now, the world figure is 36 per cent, with 35 per cent in the Middle East and North Africa. The most recent data for the UAE is from 1995, when 23 per cent of infants were breastfed.
Fidaa Al Kindi, a 44-year-old Emirati mother of five who volunteers with the Breastfeeding Friend Association, which was set up in Sharjah in 2004, said that breastfeeding helped her discover a condition her daughter had.
“My daughter used to vomit and refused to be breastfed and that raised my concerns and made me take her to several doctors. She was diagnosed with Angelman syndrome at the age of four months,” said Ms Al Kindi, of Sharjah.
Angelman syndrome is a rare neuro-genetic disorder that occurs in one in 15,000 births and causes severe physical and intellectual disability.
“The early detection of the syndrome gave us the opportunity to manage her situation,” said Ms Al Kindi.
Events to mark the week are taking place across the country, with the BFA offering information at Al Baraha Hospital in Dubai about healthy diets for breastfeeding mothers, milk storage, and how medicine affects breast milk.
“We participate in World Breastfeeding Week with about 170 other countries, offering useful information such as how to express milk and how to store it, as it can be stored in the freezer for up to six months and we are targeting working mothers,” Ms Al Kindi said.
“We managed to create breastfeeding rooms in all government institutions in Sharjah and we hope to make such facilities available across the country for all the working mothers.”
Another mother said that she breastfed her daughter while on maternity leave but had to give it up when she returned to work.
“Visits to the doctor increased after I stopped breastfeeding. She developed diarrhoea because of the formula milk, and I changed it almost four times to find one that suited her,” said Sheikha Ali, an Emirati mother of three from Dibba.
“I couldn’t breastfeed her like my other two children because I work an hour away from home and I didn’t have much information about expressing milk. I really regret it.”
Dr Abo Hamed said that any amount of breast milk is beneficial, and the longer mothers breastfeed their babies, the greater the benefits.
“It is recommended to give breast milk exclusively to babies for the first six months
Formula milk is made from cow’s milk. It does not contain any cells or antibodies, therefore it doesn’t protect babies
of life. Formula milk is made from cow’s milk and it can contain bacteria. It does not contain any cells or antibodies, therefore it doesn’t protect babies from infections and diseases like breast milk does.”
Dr Abo Hamed said that almost all women are physically able to breastfeed, while frequent feeding and responding to a baby’s demands offers the best chance to produce more milk.
“In general, breastfeeding should not be painful if the baby is positioned or attached properly,” she said.
World Breastfeeding Week is coordinated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action.
The BFA can offer support by calling 600 570001.