Breastfeeding . Why Human milk is irreplaceable?

World Breastfeeding Week  1–7 August 2011

      World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

      Breastfeeding is the best way to provide newborns with the nutrients they need. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old, and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.

Introduction to Breastfeeding

          Breast milk is thought to be the best form of nutrition for neonates and infants. The properties of human milk facilitate the transition of life from in utero to ex utero. This dynamic fluid provides a diverse array of bioactive substances to the developing infant during critical periods of brain, immune, and gut development. The clinician must be familiar with how the mammary gland produces human milk and how its properties nourish and protect the breastfeeding infant.

Important aspects about Down Syndrome

• What is Down Syndrome?

        Down syndrome (also called Trisomy 21  ) is a genetic disorder that occurs in approximately 1 of 800 live births. It is the leading cause of cognitive impairment.

• Down syndrome is associated with mild to moderate learning disabilities, developmental delays, characteristic facial features, and low muscle tone in early infancy. 

• Many individuals with Down syndrome also have heart defects, leukemia, early-onset Alzheimer's disease, gastro-intestinal problems, and other health issues. The symptoms of Down syndrome range from mild to severe.

• Life expectancy for individuals with Down syndrome has dramatically increased over the past few decades as medical care and social inclusion have improved.

International Number Ones -Because every country is good at something

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*Check country database