Less than half of infants receive exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life – study

Three out of four newborns are breastfed within the first hour of life, yet only 43% of infants are exclusively breastfed for the next six months. This is evidenced by the results of a study published by the Ministry of Health as part of World Breastfeeding Week, reports UNN. 

The Ministry of Health notes that breastfeeding up to six months is a recommendation of the World Health Organization, as this important practice positively affects the health of both mother and child. 

Breastfeeding is one of the most reliable ways to protect an infant's health, especially in emergency situations. Breast milk is free. There is no need to boil or filter water, sterilize bottles, or have access to a pharmacy. Breast milk is always safe and ready, even when there is no electricity or clean water. 

During World Breastfeeding Week, which runs from August 1 to 7, the Ministry of Health of Ukraine, UNICEF, and WHO call for greater support for families with babies and for disseminating evidence-based data on breastfeeding. According to WHO and UNICEF recommendations, from birth to six months, infants should be fed exclusively breast milk and nothing else. Breast milk fully provides the child with all the nutrients necessary for healthy growth and development. In the first six months, infants do not need water, tea, juices, infant formula, or breast milk substitutes, or any other drinks or food products. 

Breastfeeding helps give children the best start in life. Ensuring breastfeeding protects every child's right to be healthy. Every mother should have the support of her surroundings to feed her child exclusively breast milk for the first six months of life and beyond.

After the child turns six months old, breastfeeding should continue while gradually introducing nutritious complementary foods. At the same time, the MICS survey showed that more attention needs to be paid to healthy nutrition for children after six months. Thus, 56% of children aged 6–23 months already consume sweet drinks, and 21% consume unhealthy food.  

The Ministry of Health of Ukraine, UNICEF, and WHO recommend:  

• put the baby to the breast within the first hour after birth;  
• feed the baby exclusively breast milk for the first six months of life, without adding water, teas, juices, infant formula, or breast milk substitutes, or other food and drinks;   
• from six months, gradually introduce nutritious complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding up to two years and beyond;   
• seek help from healthcare professionals or breastfeeding consultants if difficulties arise;   
• fathers, relatives, and employers should support mothers — help with household chores, provide rest and emotional support, time off from work, and create safe and comfortable conditions for breastfeeding.   

What to do if breast milk is absent or insufficient? 

Breast milk is the priority source of nutrition for babies. But what to do if breast milk is absent or insufficient? For such cases, there is the practice of breast milk donation, which is becoming more widespread in Ukraine. Often it operates as spontaneous help from some mothers to others, but increasingly it takes regulated forms through so-called breast milk banks. One such bank operates in the capital at the Perinatal Center.

The main goal of the bank is to provide donor breast milk to:  prematurely born children; infants with critically low body weight; children (healthy full-term) whose mothers are temporarily unable to breastfeed for medical reasons.

Donor milk is especially important for premature infants. 

The digestive system of prematurely born children is immature, so they tolerate artificial feeding significantly worse compared to breast milk. In such infants, the intestinal enzyme systems, protective mucosal barrier, and immune mechanisms are not yet sufficiently developed. Because of this, formula can increase the risk of serious gastrointestinal complications. The most dangerous of these is necrotizing enterocolitis – a severe disease in which inflammation and damage to the intestinal wall occur 

The use of donor breast milk, in addition to reducing the development of necrotizing enterocolitis, allows for improved tolerance of enteral nutrition; faster achievement of full feeding volume; reduction in the frequency of infectious complications; and shortening the length of stay for some children in the intensive care unit. 

Therefore, we can confidently say that the establishment of the Breast Milk Bank in Kyiv made it possible to apply a feeding method whose effectiveness has already been proven by global practice 

Donor milk is provided to infants who have indications free of charge. Per month, the Bank helps feed up to 80 infants. 

The quality of milk at the Bank is carefully monitored: each batch undergoes bacteriological culture. If non-compliance with standards is detected, the batch is disposed of. 

We also analyze each batch of milk for the amount of fats, proteins, and carbohydrates, as well as calories. The composition determines which department the milk goes to 

The milk reaches small patients only after laboratory control and mandatory processing. All donor milk is pasteurized. Donors also undergo examinations.