Five Facts about Breastfeeding

From August 1st to 7th, 2018 is World Breastfeeding Week. Organized by Unicef and its partners in 120 countries since 1992, it aims to promote and encourage exclusive breastfeeding. In recent decades, more and more evidence about its health benefits has been gathered.

WHO recommends breastfeeding for the first six months

Since breast milk is considered the first natural food for infants, the World Health Organization and UNICEF are launching campaigns to promote the importance of this gesture. One of the messages is to encourage exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of infancy, a practice that is not widely practiced in some parts of the world. However, Unicef ​​estimates that during this period, the non-breastfed infant has a risk of death 14 times higher (all-cause) than the exclusively breast-fed infant. This awareness would begin to pay off as rates worldwide increased from 36% in 2011 to 43% in 2014.

To allow mothers to start breastfeeding and maintain it for six months, both organizations recommend following several rules, starting with breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. It is also recommended to stick to exclusive breastfeeding (the infant should only absorb breast milk and no other food or drink), to breastfeed on demand (as often as the child claims it, by day as at night) and do not use bottles, pacifiers or lollipops. "Subsequently, babies should receive complementary foods in addition to breastfeeding, which should continue until they are 2 years old or older," says WHO.

What are the benefits for the infant?

Apart from a quality diet, since breast milk covers all the needs that baby needs to grow (vitamins, minerals, trace elements, sugars, fats, proteins) many studies have shown health benefits of it on the long term and in many ways. "Breast milk is unique. Its richness and variety allow it to contribute to the learning of the taste in the baby, to adapt permanently to its nutritional needs and better protect it against certain infections or diseases (gastroenteritis, ear infections, allergies ... ). These characteristics are not found in industrial milks, "explains Inpes in a dedicated guide.

Thus, it is established that breast milk promotes good digestion in children and provides protection against microbes through the mother's antibodies, the baby does not yet have a well developed immune defense system. In addition, it would help to reduce the risk of allergies in children predisposed to the family level and the risk of obesity by growing up. In 2013, Inserm researchers even published a study indicating that, thanks to its many fatty acids, breast milk could also contribute to faster psychomotor development in young children. Note that it is contraindicated in case of infection with the AIDS virus in the mother.

Breastfeeding is also beneficial for mothers

While breastfeeding is a means of providing nutrition for proper infant development, it also has important implications for the health of the mother. Inpes's guidebook mentions three known benefits: breastfeeding speeds up contractions of the uterus, allowing it to return to its place more quickly after childbirth, decreases the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, and reduce the risk of osteoporosis. "It can also help you find the line by using the fat stored during pregnancy. (...) It is a way to prolong the emotional bond that is woven between the mother and the baby during pregnancy, "says the health agency.

The WHO states that in the short term, it "often leads to a stoppage of the rules, which is a natural but not infallible method of birth control (98% protection during the six months following delivery") If virtually all mothers can breastfeed, this is on the condition that they receive counseling and encouragement as well as practical help to solve any problem, for example, UNICEF urges governments around the world to ensure that breastfeeding In work and in work, it is not mutually exclusive by adopting policies such as paid maternity leave, breastfeeding breaks, and spaces for breastfeeding.

Breast milk or industrial milk, what differences?

Rates and duration of breastfeeding vary according to age, socio-professional category ... and women who do not want or can not use it can turn to infant formula. For example, some people want to switch between breastfeeding and bottles of milk, to allow fathers to participate in baby care or because of fatigue, difficulty breastfeeding, or after returning to work. While breast milk is the ideal food for every infant, there are many brands and types of infant formula. The first naturally varies from one week to another while the second exists in several age categories and variations, in case of intolerance or allergy.

As infant milk is a preparation that is essentially based on cow's milk with some transformations, a debate exists as to its great difference with breast milk. On the subject, Inpes says that it is "a food of irreplaceable quality and its characteristics are not all found in the infant milk trade", but while stating that the decision belongs to each couple. For Unicef, this difference is due to the fact that breast milk is "a nutrient fluid containing antibodies, enzymes, long-chain fatty acids and hormones. Most importantly, infant formula poses practical challenges, such as ensuring that it is well mixed with drinking water, that the dilution is correct and that the utensils can be properly cleaned.

You can donate your breast milk

In premature infants, breast milk helps prevent certain specific complications related to prematurity (infections, ulcerative colitis, retinopathy). It is to help them that lactariums intervene by collecting breast milk from mothers who wish to give their surplus milk. "Any woman who is breastfeeding and wants to give her milk can do it. A small bottle of 100 ml of milk a day for 15 days is enough, "says the Association of Lactariums of France, including 19 distributed in the territory accept anonymous milk donations. The conditions are simple: to be in good health, not smokers, not to have benefited from blood transfusion and to have a negative serology

Once the file is completed and approved, the lactarium team provides the mother with all the explanations and the necessary equipment: breast pump, baby bottles ... She collects her surplus milk every day, freezes it and gives it to the lactarium teams who pass them back every three weeks to his home. The Ile-de-France lactarium specifies that "the collected milk is pasteurized and controlled according to the good practice guide: bacteriological and virological controls (serological examinations with regard to viruses) and fraud detection (protein search cow's milk). It is then distributed to neonatology services on prescription.