Breast milk is best

Child malnutrition would decrease by 25 percent if babies were fed only breastmilk in the first six months, according to a United Nations Children's Fund nutrition specialist. Chantell Witten was speaking at the Save the Children's launch of a new report called "A life free of hunger: Tackling Child Nutrition".

Witten said about 70 percent of babies were being fed solids at two months old and that South Africa had the lowest proportion of breastfeeding mothers in the world. Most women fed their babies formula instead because they were in a rush to return to work after giving birth.

Women were also scared of breastfeeding their babies if they were HIV-positive or had AIDS. But, she said things had changed now: the government was rolling out antiretrovirals and pregnant women who were HIV-positive were entitled to get ARV. Witten said mothers were also not breastfeeding because baby formula companies were advertising their products freely without restrictions.

Last year, Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi said the low number of women breastfeeding was caused by the aggressive promotion of baby formula and the perception that breastfeeding was a sign of poverty. He said policies had to be put in place to ensure breastfeeding.

Witten said the first two years of a child's life were the most important and that it was during this time when children should receive all the necessary nutrients. While some nutrients could be fed to the child at a later stage, those children would not be as healthy as those who had been breastfed in their first six months.

SAPA, 15 February 2012