Breastfeeding is baby's first vaccine!
Breastfeeding is an essential action in the fight against child malnutrition in all its forms and is one of the best strategies to prevent infant mortality, especially of newborns.
In Angola poor and unemployed mothers are the ones who breastfeed their babies the most and tend to breastfeed them until they are 2 years old. While business and financially empowered mothers are forced to wean their babies very early due to their jobs and businesses.
Luiza and Suzana are sisters, both are mothers of 5 children and are breastfeeding their babies. The two mothers are living below the poverty line. They go through many difficulties to sustain, feed their children and attend hospitals with quality assistance.
As a result, Luiza has already lost two children due to lack of financial resources to buy medical prescriptions.
The two mothers never took the pleasure of buying supplements and powdered milk in pharmacies to feed their babies. They always breastfeed their children until they are two years old.
Breast milk is the ideal food for babies because it meets all their nutritional needs, promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the child from infectious diseases and chronic illnesses. At the same time, exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life reduces infant mortality rates from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea or pneumonia and promotes faster recovery from illness. It also helps mothers build a healthy and strong bond with their baby, reduces the effects of postpartum depression, protects against breast and ovarian cancer, and reduces women’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes after pregnancy.
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective methods to ensure health, survival and full development of children. However, less than half of the world’s babies are exclusively breastfed for their first six months of life. This figure is even more impressive in Angola, where less than 40% of babies under six months are exclusively breastfed, according to data from UNICEF.
This is very concerning and threatens the health and nutritional status of our babies, as it is in the causal pathway to malnutrition and infant mortality. In addition, studies indicate that neonatal mortality increases dramatically by 33% when breastfeeding is delayed between two and 23 hours after birth, and by 119% when breastfeeding is initiated later, after the first 24 hours of life.
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