Avoid formula milk for full growth of newborns
Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation has called on all to avoid formula milk for their babies and to feed them breast milk up to six months of age for their full growth.
In a statement, the foundation said complementary food items should be given along with breastfeeding after six months.
Breastfeeding and home-made proper complementary food like two fistful of rice, one fistful of dal, five spoons of oil, one egg or a piece of fish or meat and one fistful of vegetable can provide 670 kilocalories and 20 grams of protein is enough for a baby to save it from malnutrition, it added.
Chairperson of the foundation SK Roy said it is documentary evident that powdered milk contains not also melamine like toxic chemicals, it also contains many harmful different types of metallic substances and micro-organism which are responsible for germs of diarrhoea, pneumonia, bronchiolitis and other diseases.
World Health Organisation (WHO) and Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 2004 also said infant formula is not a sterilised food and it can contain micro-organism. Review of the data collected from several countries showed that ensuring initiation of breastfeeding within one hour of the childbirth reduces 31 percent of all neonatal mortalities, he added.
The statement said experts also found that breast milk has the exact combination of protein, fats, vitamins, minerals, enzymes and sugar needed for the babies at various stages of their growth.
Due to the anti-infective properties of breast milk, breastfed babies tend to have low incidence of diarrhoea, respiratory illness, allergies and ear infection. Breast milk also helps the baby for their mental development and disease control. In addition, it increases the babies' IQ level, intelligence, empathy and strengthened bonds between the mothers and babies.
Mothers also benefit from breastfeeding as it decreases the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, it added.
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