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  • Title: Mother milk and the Indonesian economy: a major national resource.
    Author: Rohde JE.
    Journal: Indian J Pediatr; 1981; 48(391):125-32. PubMed ID: 7298089.
    Abstract:
    Lactating Indonesian mothers contribute a value of US $520 million annually to the economy. Rather than protect and increase the production of this valuable resource, diverse influences are acting to undermine and reduce maternal maternal lactation threatening great social and economic losses to the country. Strong affirmative action on the part of the government is needed to avoid further loss of the great natural resource of mother's milk. A lactating mother produces 180 liters of milk for her baby in the 1st year and 110 liters in the 2nd year. Numerous studies of milk protein, fat, and carbohydrates show that Indonesian mothers produce milk of the highest nutritional value and that this high quality is preserved even in mothers who are undernourished. Total milk production in Indonesia calculated from average daily milk volume and duration of lactation, if all Indonesian mothers followed the rural feeding pattern, is 1315 million liters. If all mothers "modernized" to the urban pattern, production would drop to 582 million liters, or less than half. The net value of mother's milk calculated as its retail value less production costs is roughly $400 million. The true value of mother's milk far exceeds its commercial value. It contains a myriad of immunologically active factors protecting the infant from infections, allergies, asthma, and even death. The relative risk of diarrhea among bottle feeders is about 5-8 times those infants who are breastfed. A reduction in number of mothers breastfeeding by only 25% could lead to a doubling of the total cases of diarrhea. About 5% of women will conceive before resuming menstruation, but 90% remain infertile until return of menses. In general a women is protected for roughly 75% as long as she lactates, particularly if lactation is frequent and bottle substitutes are not used. The current breastfeeding pattern accounts for roughly 4.5 million couple years of contraception annually. The World Health Organization and the United Nations International Childrens Emergency Fund have spearheaded efforts to control marketing and distribution of infant milks, but the World Food Program continues to supply dried milk in various forms for distribution through government maternal and child health clinics throughout Indonesia. Much can and should be done immediately to halt this erosion and loss of a major national resource. Areas for immediate action are identified.
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