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Breastfeeding: a lifelong gift for mother and baby

Breastfeeding week blog

This week, we join our partners in celebrating and promoting World Breastfeeding Week. This annual campaign highlights the incredible benefits of breastfeeding for both mothers and babies. At The Power of Nutrition, we’re passionate about empowering mothers to make informed choices about feeding their children. Breastfeeding provides the foundation for good nutrition for children, and when fully supported, offers mothers many benefits too.

Breastmilk is more than just food; it’s “gold-top” milk brimming with essential nutrients, antibodies and white blood cells. It's perfectly tailored to a baby's developing needs, aiding digestion, boosting immunity and promoting healthy growth. Studies have shown breastfed babies have a lower risk of ear infections, respiratory illnesses, sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and other health issues.

It’s not just the baby that benefits from breastfeeding. Mothers who breastfeed experience many mental and physical health advantages, including a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, as well as reduced risk of postpartum depression. Breastfeeding also helps foster a unique emotional bond between mother and child, creating a special sense of closeness and comfort during this crucial developmental stage.

While breastfeeding is a natural process, it doesn't always come easily. Mothers may face challenges like latching difficulties, low milk supply, or societal pressures that can make breastfeeding seem daunting. Without proper support, or the understanding of these challenges, it’s easy to give up and opt for ‘easier’ alternatives which are often promoted unethically. The Power of Nutrition tackles these challenges head-on. In our programmes, we support new mothers with guidance and encouragement throughout their breastfeeding journeys, as well as encouraging partners, families, communities, and even governments, to provide a supportive environment for breastfeeding, too.

A mother adores and breastfeeds her newborn baby, in the village Nindanpur, District Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.

A final, unexpected benefit of breastfeeding is that it’s climate friendly. It may seem obvious, but there’s no food more locally produced than a mother’s milk. Breastfeeding requires far less water and natural resources than infant formula. According to a 2019 study by The Imperial College, London, “overall, breastfeeding for six months saves an estimated 95-153kg CO2 equivalent per baby compared with formula feeding.”

Globally, rates of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of a baby’s life have increased by 10% over the past decade, but more needs to be done to meet global targets. The Power of Nutrition places a huge emphasis on supporting mothers to breastfeed across all of its programmes. From our programme in Bangladesh which promotes breastfeeding friendly spaces in ready-made garment factories to the mothers’ meetings in Gujarat which encourage community support for new mothers in their breastfeeding journeys, The Power of Nutrition is supporting families to offer the best start to their children.

The theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2024 is “Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all”. Whether it’s a new mother worried about their milk supply or a mother struggling to juggle breastfeeding with making ends meet, we believe that every mother deserves the knowledge, support and confidence to be able to breastfeed their child.

Join us in celebrating the power of breastfeeding and empowering a generation of healthy mothers and babies!