World Breastfeeding Week is being held in Kyrgyzstan. The Republican Center for Health Promotion and Mass Communication of the Ministry of Health reported.
According to it, the event is aimed at raising awareness and supporting breastfeeding among the population. The week will last until August 7.
The Republican Center for Health Promotion and Mass Communication reminded that the Law «On the Protection of Breastfeeding of Children and the Regulation of Marketing of Products and Means for Artificial Nutrition of Children» has been in force in the country since 2008, which ensures the protection of children’s rights to breastfeeding and regulates the marketing of products for artificial nutrition. And the Ministry of Health, in cooperation with partners and civil society, is pursuing an active policy to introduce adequate feeding practices for small children.
The main areas of this policy include:
- Attaching the newborn to the mother’s breast within the first hour after birth;
- Exclusive breastfeeding for up to six months of life;
- Introduction of complementary foods from six months;
- Prolonged breastfeeding for up to two years and longer.
The center notes that breast milk provides the baby with all the necessary nutrients and energy in the first months of life. Children who are breastfed are less likely to be overweight or obese and are less likely to develop diabetes in adulthood.
In addition, breastfeeding helps establish close physical and psychological contact between mother and child. This contact is important for the development of maternal-child relationships.
«Successful lactation also has many advantages for mothers. It helps to recover faster after childbirth, maintains health, stabilizes hormone levels, has a positive effect on the psychological and emotional state, reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes and postpartum depression,» the center added.
