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  • Title: The crisis in infant feeding practices.
    Author: Berg A.
    Journal: Dev Dig; 1978 Jan; 16(1):26-36. PubMed ID: 12278007.
    Abstract:
    This article maintains that the dramatic decline in breast-feeding in low-income countries is extracting a substantial cost, both in infant health and in outright economic loss. From the 6th to 12th month of life, breast-feeding can supply up to 3/4 of a child's protein needs. The breast-fed child has received about 375 liters of breast milk by age 2. The nutritional equivalent in cow's milk would cost about $65; in packaged dried milk formulas, close to $140. Yet in the few developing countries where surveys of breast-feeding have been conducted over the years, the common pattern is one of significant decline, with greatest decline in urban areas. As communication techniques become more effective in developing countries, urban life styles will have increasing influence on rural societies. Estimates show that losses in breast milk can produce losses in the billions of dollars to developing countries. In terms of national development, lactation has another major economic asset: its link to family planning as a major form of contraception. One investigation reports that the incidence of pregnancy in the 1st 9 months after childbirth of nonnursing mothers was twice that of mothers who breast-fed, including those who simultaneously used other foods. Just as breast milk can be the major source of nutrition, the failure to provide breast milk is a major cause of infant malnutrition and mortality. Poor parents often dilute milk formulas to extend their supply; many cannot read labels and instructions; and hygienic needs often cannot be met by the parents. Breast-fed babies are more resistant to a host of diseases. The costs and obstacles of designing campaigns to encourage breast-feeding in developing countries may be less imposing than those of alternate nutrition intervention programs designed to achieve the same ends. Such a campaign calls for: 1) attracting the public's attention to the benefits of breast-feeding and the dangers of foregoing it through the media, clinics, and schools; 2) possible government action to assess and monitor the claims of advertising of patented baby foods; 3) making breast-feeding more convenient in urban areas; 4) reassessment of the implications of free milk programs; and 5) indoctrination of medical personnel to the importance of breastfeeding, to which they have been indifferent.
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