In the fight against this unnecessary loss of life, International Breastfeeding Week is calling on mothers to breastfeed their babies and donate breast milk to help decreasing infant mortality and malnutrition.
The South African Breastmilk Reserve (SABR), currently the largest human-milk-banking partner of the South African Department of Health, warns that breastfeeding rates in South Africa are dangerously low, with only 7.2 per cent of South African women breastfeeding.
These low rates result in the loss of the most vulnerable members of our society, including 20 000 babies under 1.8kg and 70 000 babies under 5kg annually.
The International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN) of Africa credits breastfeeding as the single biggest influence on decreasing infant mortality and malnutrition.
SABR is urging mothers to breastfeed their own babies for at least the first six months of their lives, to ensure optimum growth and development.
“We believe that breastfeeding, access to mother’s-own-milk, donated breastmilk and education are the keys to unlocking infant survival,” says Stasha Jordan, executive director at SABR.
She adds that they are calling on all mothers to donate breastmilk at local breastmilk-banks to ensure that the young lives that do not have access to their mother’s breastmilk, get the best chance of a healthy start to life.
Not just during International Breastfeeding Week, but on an ongoing basis.
“Whilst International Breastfeeding Week reminds us of the importance of ‘promoting, protecting and supporting breast-feeding’ we should live every day to ’empower inspire and counsel’ mothers and communities in breastfeeding and ‘baby-friendly’ care for the most vulnerable.”
Educating mothers living in poverty and with HIV/Aids about safe infant feeding practices is also a key focus for the SABR, to ultimately avoid vertical transmission (from mother to baby) of HIV/Aids.
“We invite mothers with babies to visit our milk-banks across the country to learn more about home-methods for heat treatment of breastmilk and through this, promote food security in a continent where poverty and malnutrition are rampant,” says Jordan.
To get involved and alleviate the challenges faced by the SABR, visit www.sabr.org.za, call 011 482 1920 or e-mail info@sabr.org.za. – @CarmenBoksburg
