Infants up to 6 months should be fed only on breast milk when possible.
Even water is not recommended, especially where there are difficulties accessing clean water. Water or infant formula can contain pathogens, causing diarrhea, potentially deadly for small children.
The initial milk produced after birth is colostrumW which is very thick and contains special nutrients for the newborn baby. However, due to a lack of education, and probably a loss of traditional knowledge, mothers are often unaware, and think there is something wrong with the milk.
Infant formula
Promotion of infant formula for babies in previous decades was a commercial practice believed to have caused the deaths of a great many children. This has been greatly reduced or eliminated in most places, but the belief that breast milk is inferior or inadequate still lingers on and this misunderstanding still causes deaths.
Notes and references
See also
Interwiki links
External links
- he Breast Milk Cure, New York Times, Nicholas D. Kristof
