While in Europe there is outrage when an NGO decides to launch a campaign to promote breastfeeding, in developing countries like Nepal, breastfeeding is seen as the ideal solution to ensure the baby grows up safely and healthily.

Unfortunately, due to a lack of information, half of newborns are not breastfed within the hour following their birth. They receive, according to tradition, water, cow’s milk, or honey instead of breast milk. Whereas, it is from the very first hour of life that the baby needs its mother’s milk. Indeed, colostrum, a part of breast milk that is considered the « first vaccine » for the newborn due to its richness in nutrients and antibodies, is delivered by the mother within the hour following the birth of her child. Skin-to-skin contact not only improves the psycho-affective relationship between the mother and the child (essential for the child’s survival) but also stimulates milk production. It is therefore essential to place the newborn in contact with their mother so that they can receive this elixir of life. In the second poorest country in Asia, where hygiene conditions are deplorable, this would allow many newborns to be saved. In 2015, every day, 38 newborns did not survive.

It is not enough to give a child enough food (in terms of calories); it is also necessary to ensure that they have all the essential micronutrients for their development. That is why the WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until six months, then partial breastfeeding until two years.

A poor diet during a child’s early years can have irreversible consequences on their health. For millions of children, this means stunted growth and a greater susceptibility to disease, which will affect them for the rest of their lives. « Breastfeeding is the best way to put a child’s life on the path to proper nutrition from the very beginning, which is essential to addressing the real problem of malnutrition that causes stunting in half of Nepal’s children, » said UNICEF Nepal representative Gillian Mellsop. Breast milk meets the nutritional needs of the infant during the first six months of life. He generally does not need any other food or drink during this period.

Breastfeeding substitutes cannot replace the antibodies, enzymes, and hormones found in breast milk. Moreover, these substitutes must be used with water, and poor sanitary conditions pose a high risk of malnutrition and contamination. Conversely, breast milk protects infants by stimulating their immune system.

In emerging countries, health issues are considerable. Proper breastfeeding would allow governments to save on health-related expenses, thanks to the reduction of childhood diseases, through breastfeeding promotion campaigns, or by improving medical infrastructures. A meta-analysis by various researchers indicates that in poor countries, the risk of mortality in the first six months is eight times lower when infants receive full breastfeeding compared to those who are completely deprived of it. Breastfeeding would particularly prevent half of diarrhea episodes and a third of respiratory infections.

One of the reasons for the decline in breastfeeding rates in poor countries is due to the commercial policies of major agri-food groups that promote breast milk substitutes. « The saturation of markets in rich countries has pushed industrialists to quickly penetrate emerging markets, » observes Dr. Nigel Rollins from the WHO. The other part of the problem is the lack of information given to young mothers, who follow the old traditions by default without questioning them. At the temporary health center organized by the Maïa Baudelaire Foundation, the nurses and the doctor promote breastfeeding, as it remains the safest way to protect the little ones.

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