BSS, Jessore :One year old Paru of Shanta village in Sharsha upazila here is suffering from moderate malnutrition.Rahela, mother of Paru, told BSS that she could not give breast milk to her baby for two months after delivery. During the period, Paru was given milk packed in tin containers.Asked about breastfeeding, Rahela said she has no knowledge on the advantage of breastfeeding. She holds the misconception that milk, other than breast milk, is needed for healthy growth of her child.Many children like Paru suffer from different magnitude of malnutrition in the area due to inadequate knowledge on breastfeeding.Health experts emphasized the need for banning marketing of all artificial baby foods including tinned milk in the country to save the infants from the hazards they face.They said if the infants up to six months are breastfed instead of allowing them to consume artificial food, it would help them to grow physically and mentally strong besides strengthening their immune system.Professor Dr Khursheed Jahan of the Institute of Nutrition and Food Science of Dhaka University said breastfeeding protects children from many diseases like polio, tetanus, diphtheria, hemoria, hemofalius influenza, respiratory infection and any other infections that attack newborn baby. Human milk contains anti-inflammation elements that help other elements to enhance preventive power against diseases.The government has already passed “Breast milk substitute, baby food, commercially produced complementary baby food and materials for using those food items (Marketing control) bill-2013”. Artificial milks have flooded the market as most of the people like to feed their children these milks due to inadequate knowledge about the super advantage of breastfeeding, he added.Dr Monir Hossain, Professor of Dhaka Shishu Hospital, underscored the need for increasing media campaign about breastfeeding and strict enforcement of law in this regard.He cautioned that infection might occur from bottle-feeding of children while breastfeeding has no such risks at all.He said the government should take immediate step to formulate a law to stop marketing of artificial milk in the name of so called additional nutrition for children.Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF) and BRAC are jointly working for creating awareness among the people about the breastfeeding practice among the mother for healthy growth of their children. They are also working to discourage the mother to give artificial milk to their children.
