What will it take to increase breastfeeding?

An article by Hernández-Cordero S and Pérez-Escamilla R. illustrates the current evidence about the major structural challenges in improving breastfeeding practices and the evidence-based policies and interventions that could effectively advance breastfeeding on a large scale to promote, protect and support it.

It highlights the following points-

• Breastfeeding saves lives and enhances infants' short- and long-term health and cognitive development. Furthermore, it also boosts the health of their mothers worldwide.
• In most countries, most women choose to breastfeed but very often cannot do it for long because of major structural barriers across layers of the social-ecological model.
• Caregivers must learn the skills to manage normal baby behaviors like crying and fussiness without placing breastfeeding at risk.
• Implementing well-coordinated evidence-based programs at the facility and community levels through a highly qualified and motivated workforce and implying adequate resources to improve breastfeeding.
• Improving maternity benefits for women working in the formal and informal sectors and enforcing the World Health Organization Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is crucial to improve breastfeeding.
• Implementing scientific research is needed to translate into large-scale policy and practice our vast knowledge of what is required in order to improve breastfeeding globally.

Hernández-Cordero S, Pérez-Escamilla R. What will it take to increase breastfeeding?. MATERNAL AND CHILD NUTRITION. 2022;18(S3):e13371. https://doi.org/10.1111/mcn.13371