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Breastfeeding Nature’s Way

by Shah Didarul Alam
THE breastfeeding culture is a culture of peace, balance and harmony. It involves trusteeship and responsibility towards our young. Even all great world religions recognize breastfeeding as essential for nurturing the young, and respect women's role In doing so.
The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) has chosen the theme "Breastfeeding Nature’s Way" for World Breastfeeding Week '97. with aims to raise public awareness of the environmental benefits of breastfeeding and show the ecologically damaging effects of bottle feeding. It also calls for co-operation with environmental groups to ensure that governments and communities worldwide support ecologically sound practices:
There are many positive reasons for women to breastfeed their babies : breastmilk is the best and most nutritious food, protecting them from illness and ensuring their healthy physical and psychological development. For mothers, breastfeeding provides such health benefits as reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. reducing postpartum bleeding and anemia, and is a natural means of spacing births by delaying ovulation.
Breastfeeding benefits all sectors of society economically, ecologically arid socially. How-«x-er, •oven ■the past decades, women s self confidence in their capacity to nduridh' their infants has been undermined by many factors. Including the appressive marketing tactics of the artificial baby milk or infant formula industry and a lack of social support.
Millions of babies fall ill every year because they are not breastfeed. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that more than 1.5 million infant dealths could be avoided every year if all babies were breastfeed.
It is vital to increase our efforts to support, protect and promote breastfeeding. All sectors of society need to learn about its advantage. As a natural and renewable 'resource', breastfeeding protects the environment by reducing the demands made on it and eliminating waste and pollution.
Artificial baby milk is factory processed and converted Into powder at high temperatures. The process uses vast amount of electric energy that usually comes from hydroelectric or nuclear power plants, both expensive and damaging to the environment.
But breastmilk is naturally produced A mother's normal diet is transformed into a natural. invaluable and specialized food for her babyl This is the most energy efficient food pro-
duction system ever known.
Artificial baby milk is an industrially manufactured food that undergoes multiple processes. additions and alterations as it is converted from cow's milk to a can of powder. No. wonder it has proved vulnerable to contamination by harmful bacteria, radioactivity, chemicals and foreign bodies. Furthermore, the water mixed with powder poses additional danger of communication.
But breastmilk is a living substance. Each women's milk is tailored for her own baby. What's more, her milk changes constantly — both during a feed and day by day — to meet her baby's evolving needs.
When a mother is exposed to pathogens in the environment, she produces antibodies to combat them. These antibodies are then passed on to her baby via her breastmilk.
Cow's milk, grains and additives used in making baby food travel long distances even before processing, and then additional long distances on the way to central, regional warehouses, and finally, to retail outlets. Many countries import artificial baby food and feeding bottles from the other side of the world. Such transportation wastes fuel and contributes to air polution everywhere.
But Breastmilk does not have to be shipped around Abe World: eWry mother-has a ready -supply Mjerevershe goes.' rbm.
The packaging of manufactured baby milk wastes tin plate, paper and plastic. Bottles, teats and other feeding equipment also waste plastic, rubber, silicon and glass.
The 550 million tins of artificial baby milk sold each year to bottle feed all US babies, stacked end to end. would circle the earth one and a half times.
In 1987, 4.5 million feeding bottles were sold in Pakistan alone. These feeding bottles stacked end to end would reach the top of Mount Everest.
A 3-month-old bottle feed baby requires a litre of water per day to mix with the formula powder. Another two litres are needed to sterilize the bottles and teats. If the water is boiled over a wood fire, more than 73 kg of wood are need to prepare a year's feeds.
In many parts of the world, water and fuel are so scarce that few mothers are able to keep the bottles and teats clean and use only boiled, cooled water to make up the feeds.
But breastmilk is ready to use at the right temperature, does not need to be sterilized, and causes no pollution.
The writer is president. Nutrition and Environmental Awareness Programme (NEAP)