The New Nation - Internet Edition

UNB, Dhaka

Breastfeeding acts as the first live vaccine for the baby's body and should be exclusively given to the newborn until six months from birth as it certainly helps strengthen their

immune system, pediatricians say.

They emphasized on creating awareness among the mothers to only breast feed their babies until six months and discouraged them from giving supplement milk feedings that are considered harmful for child health - make babies more prone to various diseases in their early life.

"Mothers should feed their babies the colostrums (first drops of breast milk), which acts as the live vaccine and strengthens immune power in the body," Prof Dr Fatima Parveen Chowdhury, Director of the Institute of Public Health Nutrition (IPHN), told UNB.

She said mothers should not give their babies any other foods except breast feeding at least for six months of their age as the supplement feedings could never be an alternative to breast feeding. "Even not a drop of water is needed for the babies until six months."

Dr Fatima Parveen said when the babies cross six months of age they should be given some homemade additional foods along with the breast feedings. The homemade balanced foods like hotchpotch, dal, green vegetables and soup of boiled meat, she said, help the babies' growth.

The IPHN director said the mothers who give their babies breast feeding generally remain free from attack of breast cancer. "Breast feeding naturally works in the mothers' body in reducing blood discharges after giving birth to the babies."

Listing many good points of breast feeding, she said a strong family bond is created between mothers and babies through the breast feedings. The family bond is essential for any country to protecting the social relationship, she added.

Quoting from the holy Quran, Dr Fatima Parveen said all fathers have been advised to allow the babies' mothers to continually give them breast feeding until two years of age.

"The holy Quran give the directive 13 times (on breast feeding)," she said, adding that breast feeding is a precious gift from the creator considered the best food for the babies-for removing malnutrition.

Describing the economic aspects, the IPHN director said the country every year has been importing the supplement milks worth Tk 400 crore, which causes huge loss for the country, only for lack of adequate knowledge of mothers. "Bangladesh imports supplement milks which are not so necessary."

Quoting statistics for the year 2005, Dr Fatima Parveen said some 98 percent of mothers give their babies breast feeding and at the same time also give the babies supplement milks from markets.

"Less than 50 percent of mothers, mostly in rural areas, exclusively give breast feeding to their children," she said, adding that mothers in urban areas give babies more supplement milks that cause obesity problem in children.

Child specialist Dr Fazlul Kader Khan said breast feeding could directly save the babies from various serious diseases, including allergy caused from taking supplement milks like cow milk and powdered milk.

"Breast feeding is the safest for the babies and it contains sufficient protein and other necessary ingredients for increasing the immunity," he said, adding that there's no record that babies have fallen sick or started vomiting after taking the mother's milk.

Dr Kader, who now works as junior consultant (child) at Bhairab Health Complex in Kishoregonj, mentioned that breast milk is produced naturally among mothers considering the babies' need.

"The temperature in breast milk is the best, safest and most useful for babies," he said.

He suggested that the mothers who produce insufficient milk for their babies should take lot of protein diets that would help increase breast milks.