2019 World’s Breastfeeding Week: Know Why It’s Important

For decades, August 1 to August 7 every year is being celebrated as World’s Breastfeeding Day and this year is no different. The motive behind celebrating the week is to spread awareness about the need for breastfeeding and encourage women to breastfeed their children.

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As per the data by UNICEF, about 60% of the world’s total infants miss compulsory six months of exclusive breastfeeding. This is due to various reasons including the attitude of doctors, personal issues, financial issues and health concerns. The idea behind celebrating the week is to plunge such taboos and allow women the #freedomtofeed.

Theme

The dedicated theme for 2019 World Breastfeeding Week is – Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding. As per the World Health Organisation (WHO), the objective behind the theme is to encourage and expand much-needed knowledge about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for at least 6 months. As per specialists, exclusive breastfeeding is an important source of energy and nutrients in children aged between 6–23 months. Moreover, breastfeeding also helps enhance the health of a Mother.

Importance Of Breastfeeding

Breastfeeding involves health benefits for both the mother and the child. Breast milk contains important components that protect and build the baby’s immature immune system. The components also help babies fight gastrointestinal infections, atopic disease (including eczema and asthma), respiratory infections, obesity in childhood and later life, some childhood cancers and sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS).

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Moreover, the frequent skin-to-skin contact between the mother and the child can intensify bonding between the two. Mothers who breastfeed their child have a lower risk of depression and can also lose post-pregnancy weight much quicker. Additionally, it saves you from daily struggles of measuring the quantity of milk the baby is craving for, frequent milk warming struggles, etc.

Bollywood Celebrates Breastfeeding Week

In honour of World’s Breastfeeding week, several celebrities, including mothers of newly born from the B-town shared heartfelt messages to make people aware of the importance of the week and breastfeeding itself.

 

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it’s been 8 months since I embarked on this rollercoaster and there is no better time than now to talk about how truly grateful I am for all the joy that our little one has brought into our lives…motherhood like all else hasn’t been easy… the sleepless nights, the feeling like a food source ,the blues are all a part of this wonderful package. Its amazing how the mommy brain can do so many things at the same time and works on autopilot …like resting the baby’s head jus right , knowing when she is done with her feed and ofcourse becoming the burping expert of the world . I breastfed ? Mehr exclusively for 6 months and still continue to do so … It truly made me realise the value of a wonderful support system that I have and sometimes the lack of it and also the lack of facilities . Like once I was on a plane and had to feed her , and I literally had to take her to the washroom and was only hoping that the seat belt sign does nt come on before she is done …of course I came out n apologised for using the washroom for so long… now here’s the real deal … I honestly don’t understand the consciousness behind doing something so right n so beautiful. Im also super grateful for all the amazing people in my life for making this journey easier but the truth is I know I’m not alone in feeling that there has to be a slight shift in our mentalities, in the fact that we need more facilities for breast feeding moms with their babies or even their breast pumps …and the only way this can happen is if we start a conversation… I want to encourage moms like you and me whether breast feeding or not , to share their story … tag me @nehadhupia and use the hashtag #freedomtofeed ?and I promise to share story with my little world. ? … @freedomtofeed

A post shared by Neha Dhupia (@nehadhupia) on Aug 3, 2019 at 1:28am PDT

One among the celebs is Neha Dupia, who shared a powerful picture of herself breastfeeding her daughter Mehr beside a heart-warming message. In a lengthy Instagram post, she pressed on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and why she continues to breastfeed her child post exclusive months.

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Sameera Reddy, another mother who had welcomed a daughter recently, shared an adorable photo with her on Instagram and gave netizens a lesson on the reasons behind low milk production in women and what one can do about it.

 

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New dads & loved ones listen up! Its World Breast feeding week and this post is for you to know that you can be the biggest support and encouragement to a new mom! A mother may be depressed, lacking in confidence, worried, or stressed and it affects breastfeeding. These factors do not directly affect her milk production, but can interfere with the way in which she responds to her baby. This can result in the baby taking less milk, and failing to stimulate milk production. So be there for her . ❤️ Understanding the pressure on her physically and emotionally is the best thing you can do. Nothing like feeling loved at such an overwhelming time. ?? . I would also like to give a shoutout to moms who have struggled with low milk production . This could happen due to a pathological reason including endocrine problems or a host of other factors .A few mothers have a physiological low breast-milk production, for no apparent reason, and production does not increase when the breastfeeding technique and pattern improve. There is no reason to shame them or make them feel any pressure in not being able to BF. we need to support all mothers and show love and respect ?. . #worldbreastfeedingweek2019 . @WABA_global @who @unicefindia

A post shared by Sameera Reddy (@reddysameera) on Aug 2, 2019 at 12:46am PDT

Sameera in her post advised new dads and loves ones to be present for a new mom, as it is the biggest support and encouragement for her.