Raising Infants and Young Children: Dos and Don'ts

Author: Yan Wenqi
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-08-01
Features: Promoting Breastfeeding
World Health Organization (WHO), United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), and other international organizations advocate for protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding, addressing various issues that may affect it, as a primary appropriate technology for protecting children's rights. They emphasize the special role of maternal and child health services and have outlined 10 measures for maternal and child health institutions to promote successful breastfeeding:
(1) Establish a written breastfeeding policy and ensure it is consistently communicated to all healthcare staff.
(2) Provide necessary technical training to all healthcare staff to implement this policy.
(3) Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.
(4) Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within half an hour after delivery.
(5) Guide mothers on how to breastfeed and how to maintain milk production when separated from their infants.
(6) Prohibit giving infants any food or drink other than breast milk, unless medically indicated.
(7) Implement rooming-in practices, allowing infants and mothers to stay together 24 hours a day.
(8) Encourage breastfeeding on demand.
(9) Do not give pacifiers or use nipples as comfort items for breastfeeding infants.
(10) Post information about established breastfeeding support organizations and refer discharged mothers to these organizations.
According to the definition of breastfeeding by UNICEF, breastfeeding is categorized into the following levels based on different criteria:
(1) Exclusive Breastfeeding:
① Pure Breastfeeding: Refers to giving infants no other liquids or solid foods in addition to breast milk.
② Almost Exclusive Breastfeeding: Refers to giving infants vitamins or juice in addition to breast milk, but not more than once or twice a day, and not more than one or two sips each time.
(2) Partial Breastfeeding:
① High Proportion Breastfeeding: Refers to breastfeeding accounting for more than 80% of an infant's total food intake.
② Moderate Proportion Breastfeeding: Refers to breastfeeding accounting for 20% to 79% of an infant's total food intake.
③ Low Proportion Breastfeeding: Refers to breastfeeding accounting for less than 20% of an infant's total food intake.
(3) Symbolic Breastfeeding: Refers to breastfeeding that provides almost no calories to the infant.
From the above, it can be understood that breastfeeding in practice includes the above types, or it may be a combination or alternation of one or more of these types. Breast milk is the best nutritional food for infants from birth to 4–6 months, and young mothers should persist in breastfeeding their children. Breast milk is transformed from a mother's qi and blood, making it the most suitable natural nutrition for infants and also perfectly suited to their growth and development needs. For an infant to receive breastfeeding after birth is a healthy first step in life. Generally, milk produced by mothers within the first 12 days after delivery is called "colostrum," milk produced from the 13th day to the first month is "transitional milk," milk produced from 2 to 9 months is "mature milk," and milk produced from 10 to 12 months is "late milk."
Research shows that colostrum is thin and low in fat, making it ideal for newborns with weaker digestive abilities. As the infant grows older, breast milk becomes thicker, containing abundant nutrients such as proteins, fats, and sugars, with appropriate proportions. The calcium and phosphorus ratio in it is also very suitable. The fat in breast milk contains more unsaturated fatty acids and a large amount of lipase, with small fat globules, all of which are highly beneficial for the infant.