More and more mothers from European countries and the USA are feeding their newborns formula milk, unlike those who live in poor or developing countries, according to data released by UNICEF on Thursday.
Mothers in the poorest countries of the world usually breastfeed their children until they are two years old, in accordance with the recommendations of the World Health Organization and UNICEF.
In developing countries, such as Peru, Madagascar and Nepal, women breastfeed their children in 99 percent of cases.
But Europe and the USA are quite far behind. In Ireland, for example, only 55 percent of women breastfeed their newborns and children, in the US this figure is 74 percent, and in Great Britain 81 percent.
In Germany, 82 percent of mothers breastfeed their children, and the Scandinavian countries are at the top with 98 percent of Swedish and 95 percent of Norwegian women who breastfeed.
All research confirms the importance of breastfeeding in the first months of life. The recommendation of the World Health Organization is that all children, except in rare cases due to medical reasons, should receive exclusively breast milk for at least the first six months of life.
Breastfeeding should be continued in the second half of the first year, with the gradual addition of other foods (supplementary feeding). Breastfeeding can then be continued, as long as the mother and child wish to do so.
Breast milk ensures a balanced ratio of nutrients and protective substances needed for optimal growth and development of the child. Breastfeeding has a stimulating effect on the development of the child's immune system.
Because of this, breastfed children suffer from infections, allergic and autoimmune diseases in a smaller percentage, and they have a lower risk of potential death due to necrotizing enterocolitis and sudden infant death syndrome.
Mother's milk provides all the nutritional and protective factors necessary for the growth and development of the child, and they cannot be completely replaced by infant formulas, reports Radio Sarajevo.
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