WHY EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING?

Exclusive breastfeeding

Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the healthy growth and development of infants; it is also an integral part of the reproductive process with important implications for the health of mothers. Review of evidence has shown that, on a population basis, exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months is the optimal way of feeding infants. Thereafter infants should receive complementary foods with continued breastfeeding up to 2 years of age or beyond.

To enable mothers to establish and sustain exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months, WHO and UNICEF recommend:

    Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life
    Exclusive breastfeeding : that is the infant only receives breast milk without any additional food or drink, not even water
    Breastfeeding on demand : that is as often as the child wants, day and night
    No use of bottles, teats or pacifiers

Breast milk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life.

Breast milk promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the infant against infectious and chronic diseases. Exclusive breastfeeding reduces infant mortality due to common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea or pneumonia, and helps for a quicker recovery during illness. These effects can be measured in resource-poor and affluent societies

Breastfeeding contributes to the health and well-being of mothers; it helps to space children, reduces the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer, increases family and national resources, is a secure way of feeding and is safe for the environment.

While breastfeeding is a natural act, it is also a learned behaviour. An extensive body of research has demonstrated that mothers and other caregivers require active support for establishing and sustaining appropriate breastfeeding practices. WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative in 1992, to strengthen maternity practices to support breastfeeding. The foundation for the BFHI are the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding described in Protecting, Promoting and Supporting Breastfeeding: a Joint WHO/UNICEF Statement. The evidence for the effectiveness of the Ten Steps has been summarized in a scientific review document.

The BFHI has been implemented in about 16.000 hospitals in 171 countries and it has contributed to improving the establishment of exclusive breastfeeding world-wide. While improved maternity services help to increase the initiation of exclusive breastfeeding, support throughout the health system is required to help mothers sustain exclusive breastfeeding.

The Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding describes the essential interventions to promote, protect and support exclusive breastfeeding.

"SUPPORT EXCLUSIVE BREASTFEEDING TODAY"

SOURCES :
(Kramer M et al Promotion of Breastfeeding Intervention Trial (PROBIT): A randomized trial in the Republic of Belarus. Journal of the American Medical Association, 2001, 285(4): 413-420).
WHO. 

WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT "HIDDEN HUNGER"?

The ‘hidden hunger’ due to micronutrient deficiency does not produce hunger as we know it. You might not feel it in the belly, but it strikes at the core of your health and vitality.
    Kul C. Gautam, former deputy executive director of UNICEF

Hidden hunger, also known as micronutrient deficiencies, afflicts more than 2 billion individuals, or one in three people, globally. Its effects can be devastating, leading to mental impairment, poor health, low productivity, and even death. Its adverse effects on child health and survival are particularly acute, especially within the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from conception to the age of two, resulting in serious physical and cognitive consequences. Even mild to moderate deficiencies can affect a person’s well-being and development. In addition to affecting human health, hidden hunger can curtail socioeconomic development, particularly in low- and middle-income countries.

A Different Kind of Hunger

Hidden hunger is a form of undernutrition that occurs when intake and absorption of vitamins and minerals (such as zinc, iodine, and iron) are too low to sustain good health and development. Factors that contribute to micronutrient deficiencies include poor diet, increased micronutrient needs during certain life stages, such as pregnancy and lactation, and health problems such as diseases, infections, or parasites.

While clinical signs of hidden hunger, such as night blindness due to vitamin A deficiency and goiter from inadequate iodine intake, become visible once deficiencies become severe, the health and development of a much larger share of the population is affected by less obvious “invisible” effects. That is why micronutrient deficiencies are often referred to as hidden hunger.

Women and children have greater needs for micronutrients. The nutritional status of women around the time of conception and during pregnancy has long-term effects for fetal growth and development. Nearly 18 million babies are born with brain damage due to iodine deficiency each year. Severe anemia contributes to the death of 50,000 women in childbirth each year.

Causes of  Hidden Hunger

Poor diet is a common source of hidden hunger. Diets based mostly on staple crops, such as maize, wheat, rice, and cassava, which provide a large share of energy but relatively low amounts of essential vitamins and minerals, frequently result in hidden hunger. What people eat depends on many factors, including relative prices and preferences shaped by culture; peer pressure; and geographical, environmental, and seasonal factors. Victims of hidden hunger may not understand the importance of a balanced, nutritious diet. Nor may they be able to afford or access a wide range of nutritious foods such as animal-source foods (meat, eggs, fish, and dairy), fruits, or vegetables, especially in developing countries

Another source of micronutrient deficiencies is impaired absorption or use of nutrients. Absorption may be impaired by infection or a parasite that can also lead to the loss of or increased need for many micronutrients. Infections and parasites can spread easily in unhealthy environments with poor water, sanitation, and hygiene conditions. Unsafe food handling and feeding practices can further exacerbate nutrient losses.

Diet also affects absorption. Fat-soluble vitamins such as vitamin A are best absorbed when consumed with dietary fat, while consumption of some compounds such as tannins or phytates can inhibit iron absorption. Alcohol consumption can interfere with the absorption of micronutrients.

Solutions to hidden Hunger 

Dietary diversity is associated with better child nutritional outcomes, even when controlling for socioeconomic factors. In the long term, dietary diversification ensures a healthy diet that ­contains a balanced and adequate combination of macronutrients (carbohydrates, fats, and protein); essential micronutrients; and other food-based substances such as dietary fiber. A variety of cereals, legumes, fruits, vegetables, and animal-source foods provides adequate nutrition for most people, although certain populations, such as pregnant women, may need supplements. Effective ways to promote dietary diversity involve food-based strategies, such as home gardening and educating people on better infant and young child feeding practices, food preparation, and storage/preservation methods to prevent nutrient loss.

Fortifying Commercial Foods

Commercial food fortification, which adds trace amounts of micronutrients to staple foods or condiments during processing, helps consumers get the recommended levels of micronutrients. A scalable, sustainable, and cost-effective public health strategy, fortification has been particularly successful for iodized salt: 71 percent of the world’s population has access to iodized salt.

Supplementation

Vitamin A supplementation is one of the most cost-effective interventions for improving child survival. Between 1999 and 2005, coverage increased more than fourfold, and in 2012, estimated coverage rates were near 70 percent globally. Programs to supplement vitamin A are often integrated into national health policies because they are associated with a reduced risk of all-cause mortality and a reduced incidence of diarrhea. According to UNICEF, at least 70 percent of young children ages 6 to 59 months need to receive vitamin A supplements every six months in order to achieve the desired reductions in child mortality. However, because of fluctuations in funding, coverage varies widely from year to year in many priority countries. It should also be noted that vitamin A supplements typically target only vulnerable populations between six months and five years old.

Sources :
Thompson (2010)
FAO (2013)
IFD (2014)
WFP (2014)
UNICEF (2014)

THE IMPORTANCE OF "CHILD SPACING"

Spacing between pregnancies can have important health
implications for a mother and her baby. Research has shown that there are a number of issues which are more likely to occur when a woman is pregnant again within a year of giving birth.

These issues include an increased risk of:

 

- low birth weight

- small gestational size

- preterm birth

- infant death

- labor issues such as uterine rupture

 

Medical professionals recommend new mothers waiting at least a full year to have a another baby - some even say to wait 2 years! This gives the mothers time to replenish vital nutrients that were lost during child birth and also the recovery time to allow organs to restore back to normal. It can also help ensure that new parents will have the energy and ability to focus on another child.

 

What can you do to protect your health and the health of your future baby?

 

Partners should discuss which contraception is best for them - such as condoms, birth control pills, an intrauterine device (IUD) or CycleBeads. All have pros and cons depending on whether or not you are breastfeeding as well as your reproductive goals. 

Be sure to talk to your doctor on the right one for you. 

 

AMAZING HEALTH BENEFITS OF GARDEN EGGS

Garden Eggs has many health benefits. It can help you to lose weight as well as prevent other cardio-vascular diseases

People who want to lose weight can achieve it now by consuming plenty of garden eggs. Garden egg also known as eggplant “have low calorie, low sodium, low protein and is very high in dietary fibre and potassium. It’s a fruit that is classified under vegetables and anyone who really want to lose weight should eat fresh garden egg.

“When you take garden egg, it fills the stomach because of its fibre content which reduces the food you consume, thereby reducing the calories and body weight"
 the high fibre content in eggplant helps to reduce bad cholesterol in the body, thereby protecting the heart. Garden eggs help to regulate the blood pressure, maintain and regulate the function of the heart.

Because of the high fibre and low soluble carbohydrate content of the eggplant, it controls glucose absorption and reduces the risk of hypertension and is very low in calorie content, such that when a diabetic person consumes it, it suppresses the sugar level and brings the blood pressure down. Garden eggs have anti-ulcer remedy, which could be used as a treatment for ulcer while noting that they do not protect one from having ulcer but that the anti ulcer content in the fruit suppresses the ailment.

Also, a study conducted by S. A. Igwe, Dora Akunyili and C. Ogbogu, published in the 2003 issue of the journal of Ethnopharmacology on ‘Effects of Garden Egg on some visual functions of visually active Igbos of Nigeria’, found out that eating plenty of garden egg can help lower eye pressure in persons with glaucoma.

Garden eggs, could be eaten raw or cooked. The garden egg plant apart from being a source of vegetable also has numerous health benefits which are essential for the overall development of the human body.  Its acceptability cuts across religious, tribal, cultural and ethnic groups in Nigeria, hence the wide usage of the garden egg plant.

Garden egg fruit is beneficial and nourishing to the body because it is rich in vitamin which provides the body with both soluble vitamin and water soluble vitamins; they are rich in thiamine required for normal growth and proper functioning of the heart and nervous system and niacin needed for cellular respiration. Garden egg is one of the anti cancer fruit which has been used for over decades, to fight against cancer and other diseases.

In Most African countries, this fruit is a highly valued delicacy and constituent of the African food. It also represents fertility and blessing and thus, common to find it served during wedding ceremonies in some communities across the African continent. For weight reduction, garden egg is the perfect recipe for achieving weight loss within a short period of time because it is very low in calorie content.

This is why experts are encouraging people that want to lose weight to eat more of the fresh form, just as people that are told to protect their heart against cholesterol effects should make it their delight.
ADEQUATE NUTRITION, HEALTHIER SOCIETY.