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New breastfeeding policy comes into effect in Rajasthan
The News
Rajasthan has released a state policy to reinforce early initiation of breastfeeding.
It will encourage the rural communities to promote exclusive breastfeeding along with its early initiation.
About the breastfeeding policy
The initiative has been taken as part of the National Nutrition Mission-2022.
The new policy stipulates initiation of breastfeeding within an hour inside the labour room, supporting mothers to ensure the continued exclusive breastfeeding and counseling till two years of the child's age.
The policy is jointly developed by NHM and WCD with technical support from UNICEF.
With the effective implementation of the policy, Rajasthan will be able to achieve the goals to provide mother’s milk to every newborn.
Significance of the policy
It will help in providing an official framework to emphasise on the importance of early initiation of breast feeding as well as exclusive breast feeding which are the optimal benchmarks for infant and young child feeding.
This initiative will not only improve the indicators but will also use this opportunity to reduce both infant and neonatal mortality while improving immunity towards infections such as diarrhoea, pneumonia and other childhood illnesses.
The policy is also expected to meet the nutritional needs of young children.
The policy will help to increase the utilization of these Mother Milk Banks also.
Need of the policy
The State had made an impressive progress in institutional deliveries, which were currently at 86.6%, but the early initiation of breastfeeding was low despite having doubled over the last 10 years.
The National Family Health Survey-4 has highlighted that the early initiation of breastfeeding in the State was only at 28.4%, and only 58% infants were able to exclusively breastfeed during the first six months of their lives.
Hence, there was a need of extensive work for increasing breastfeeding.
Significance of breastfeeding
Breast milk is uniquely suited to the human infant’s nutritional needs and is a live substance with unparalleled immunological and anti-inflammatory properties that protect against a host of illnesses and diseases for both mothers and children.
Breastfeeding contributes to the health and well-being of mothers.
It helps to space children, reduces the risk of ovarian cancer and breast cancer, increases family and national resources, is a secure way of feeding and is safe for the environment.
Health and Nutritional significance
For about the first six months, infants should be exclusively breastfed, meaning they should not be given any foods or liquids other than breast milk, not even water.
Human milk is uniquely tailored to meet the nutrition needs of human infants.
It has the appropriate balance of nutrients provided in easily digestible and bioavailable forms.
Breast milk is the natural first food for babies, it provides all the energy and nutrients that the infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one-third during the second year of life.
Exclusive breastfeeding reduces infant mortality due to common childhood illnesses such as diarrhoea or pneumonia, and helps for a quicker recovery during illness.
It also reduces chances of Breast cancer in women.
Economic Significance
In addition to the health advantages of breastfeeding for mothers and their children, there are economic benefits associated with breastfeeding that can be realized by families, employers, private and government insurers, and the nation as a whole.
Increasing rates of breastfeeding can help reduce the prevalence of various illnesses and health conditions, which in turn results in lower health care costs.
Environmental significance
Breastfeeding also confers global environmental benefits; human milk is a natural, renewable food that acts as a complete source of babies’ nutrition for about the first six months of life.
Furthermore, there are no packages involved, as opposed to infant formulas and other substitutes for human milk that require packaging that ultimately may be deposited in landfills.
It generally requires no containers, no paper, no fuel to prepare, and no transportation to deliver, and it reduces the carbon footprint by saving precious global resources and energy.
Psychosocial significance
Breast milk promotes sensory and cognitive development, and protects the infant against infectious and chronic diseases.
It fulfills the desire of a mother to experience a sense of bonding or closeness with her newborn.
Breastfeeding may help to lower the risk of postpartum depression, a serious condition that almost 13 percent of mothers experience.
#Section : Social Issues