Breast-feeding promotion

Breastfeeding promotion, among the least costly actions available to the health community today, involves encouraging new mothers to breastfeed their infants for the first six months of life. Technical specifications and guidelines for implementing this programme already exist, and global training programmes are well developed and accessible. Exclusive breastfeeding, improves child nutrition, eliminates the intake of potentially contaminated food and water and significantly lowers the risk of transmitting infections to children. Studies have shown that in developing countries, breastfed children under six months of age are 6.1 times less likely to die of diarrhea than infants who are not breastfed.

 

For more information, listen to our podcast or visit the CVM's full page on Climate Change and Gender