World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding to improve health of babies.

It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

This year’s theme for WBWis “Just 10 Steps! Breastfeeding the Baby-Friendly Way.”

By focusing on the Ten Steps, it recognizes the vital role of health care facilities in establishment of breastfeeding.

First Food First

Nutrition and nurturing during the first years of life are both crucial for life-long health and well-being.

In infancy, no gift is more precious than breastfeeding. WHO universally recommends colostrum, a mother's first milk as the perfect food for every newborn. The sticky, yellowish substance produced soon after birth is ideal for the newborn - in composition, in quantity and rich in antibodies.

WHO Recommendation

Exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life should be practiced. At six months, other foods should complement breastfeeding for up to two years or more.

In addition:
• breastfeeding should begin within an hour of birth;
• breastfeeding should be "on demand", as often as the child wants day and night; and
• bottles or pacifiers should be avoided.

Advantages of Breast- Feeding
1. It is the simple, hygienic, inexpensive and easily available way to feed the baby.
2. It increases the period of lactation amenorrhea after childbirth.
3. It reduces the chances of infection and increases the immunity of the baby. It lowers risk of various health problems in both infants & mothers.

In Infants:
• Ear infections
• Diarrhea
• Respiratory infections
• Atopic dermatitis
• Asthma
• Obesity
• Type 1 and type 2 diabetes
• Childhood leukemia
• Sudden infant death syndrome
• Necrotizing enterocolitis, a disease that affects the gastrointestinal tract in pre-term infants

In Mothers:
• Type 2 diabetes
• Breast cancer
• Ovarian cancer
• Postpartum depression

4. The amino acids in breast milk are well balanced for the baby. These proteins best aid the baby’s intestinal tract.

5. The emotional bonding between the baby and mother is strengthened & gives a feeling of satisfaction to the mother.

6. Since bottles and nipples need to be sterilized in case of artificial feeding, chances of contamination are high unlike in breastfeeding.