Page 56 - rp-may-2020

HEALTH MOTHER AND BABY 54
RET AIL PHARMA C Y • MA Y 2020
breastfeeding
By Margaret Mielczarek.
A
ccording to the World Health
Organisation, one way to
ensure the health of an
infant is to breastfeed.
The reason? “Breastmilk is the ideal food
for infants. It is safe, clean and contains
antibodies, which help protect against
many common childhood illnesses”
(WHO, 2020).
The WHO (2020) also states that
breastmilk is nutritionally complete –
that is, it “provides all the energy and
nutrients that the infant needs for the
first months of life, and it continues to
provide up to half or more of a child’s
nutritional needs during the second
half of the first year, and up to one third
during the second year of life”.
According to the Royal Women’s Hospital
in Melbourne, breastfeeding not only
helps to protect the infant from “infections,
allergies and a range of other medical
conditions”, but also might protect the
mother from “developing ovarian cancer
and osteoporosis”, as well as helping her
“return to her pre-pregnancy weight”.
Australian Breastfeeding Association
Senior Manager Business Information
and Research Naomi Hull said:
“As breastfeeding is the natural and
normal way to feed babies, this should
be the benchmark to which other forms
of infant feeding are compared. Rather
than the ‘benefits’ of breastfeeding,
there are risks of not breastfeeding.
“There is convincing evidence that
not breastfeeding increases the risk
of infections in infants, which includes
gastrointestinal, respiratory and ear
infections, poor cognitive development,
an increased risk of SIDS and some
childhood cancers, such as leukaemia.”
For the mother, in addition to increased
risk of osteoporosis and ovarian cancer,
Ms Hull adds that not breastfeeding also
It’s one of the most natural, bonding experiences in a mother’s life, yet for some it can also provide some serious
challenges. While the benefits of breastfeeding are known, what do you do when you find it too challenging?
And what do you do during a pandemic? This month
Retail Pharmacy
delves into the sometimes tricky world
of breastfeeding.
• The WHO (2020) recommends that
breastfeeding is initiated “within
the first hour of birth” and that
infants are “exclusively breastfed
for the first six months of life”.
• After six months, breastfeeding
should continue as a complement
to the consumption of food.
• Breastfeeding is encouraged for
up to two years and beyond.
THE BIRTHRIGHT AND WRONGS OF