Aug 2015
Source: World Health Organization
WHO/H. Anenden
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival.
If every child was breastfed within an hour of birth, given only breast milk for their first six months of life, and continued breastfeeding up to the age of two years, about 800 000 child lives would be saved every year*.
Globally, less than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. Adequate breastfeeding counselling and support are essential for mothers and families to initiate and maintain optimal breastfeeding practices.
WHO actively promotes breastfeeding as the best source of nourishment for infants and young children. This fact file explores the many benefits of the practice, and how strong support to mothers can increase breastfeeding worldwide.
Read 10 facts about breastfeeding
Read more about breastfeeding, in Portuguese, in HCS-Manguinhos:
Carula, Karoline. Dangerous wet nurses: breastfeeding, science, and slavery in A Mãi de Familia. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Dez 2012, vol.19, suppl.1, p.197-214. ISSN 0104-5970
Leite, Ana Cristina da Nóbrega Marinho Torres and Paes, Neir Antunes. Women’s rights in Brazil: focus on maternal health. Hist. cienc. saude-Manguinhos, Set 2009, vol.16, no.3, p.705-714. ISSN 0104-5970
