Breastfeeding

Rare card · No. 51328

Breastfeeding, also known as nursing, is the process whereby breast milk is fed to an infant or toddler. Infants may suckle directly from the breast, or milk may be extracted with a breast pump and then fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that breastfeeding begin within the first hour of a newborn's birth and continue as the baby wants. Health organizations including the WHO recommend exclusively breastfeeding for six months; this means that no other foods or drinks—other than vitamin D supplement—are typically given. The WHO recommends then continuing breastfeeding with appropriate complementary foods for up to 2 years, and beyond. Exclusive breastfeeding rose from 37.0% to 47.4% between 2012 and 2024. Breastfeeding has a number of benefits to both the mother and the infant, that infant formula lacks. Increased breastfeeding to near-universal levels in low and middle income countries could prevent approximately 820,000 deaths of children under the age of...

Read on Wikipedia · Image Ken Hammond ([1]), Public domain