The lives of 95 babies could be saved every hour if mothers started breastfeeding their newborns in the hour after their birth, according to a new report by charity Save the Children. Receiving a mother's first milk within an hour will kickstart the child's immune system, making a newborn three times more likely to survive.
If the mother continues feeding for the next six months, then a child growing up in the developing world is up to 15 times less likely to die from killer diseases such as pneumonia and diarrhoea, the report said. According to the charity, there has been enormous progress in reducing child mortality, but more could be done if mothers were encouraged to breastfeed.
"Despite the benefits of breastfeeding being widely known in the developed world, and it being a free, natural way to protect a newborn baby, too little attention is being paid to help mums breastfeed in poorer countries," said Justin Forsyth, Save the Children's chief executive.
Save The Children is calling on the UK Government to use its G8 presidency to fund nutrition work with breastfeeding and on other donor countries to step up their funding.
"This year's G8 - with the UK in the driving seat - is a once in a lifetime opportunity to focus effort on a final push to end hunger," said Mr Forsyth.
Sky News report 18 February 2013
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