HYDERABAD: Highlighting the importance of breastfeeding, Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Bikha Ram Devrajani said it ensured ideal nutrition among infants.

Speaking at a seminar to mark the World Breastfeeding Week in LUMHS on Wednesday, arranged by the department of paediatrics, he said mother’s milk had a perfect combination of vitamins, proteins and fats, which was in fact everything a baby needed for growth. It was provided in a form which was more easily digestible than infant formula, he added.

He said breast milk contained antibodies which helped a baby fight off viruses and bacteria. Breastfeeding lowered a baby’s risk of developing asthma or allergies, he said, adding that the babies who were breastfed exclusively for at least first six months without any other milk formula rarely suffered from ear infections, respiratory illnesses and bouts of diarrhoea. They had fewer hospitalisations and visits to doctor, said the VC.

LUMHS paediatrics Prof Salma Shaikh said that first 1,000 days in baby’s life from the first day of pregnancy up to two years of life represented a critical period of growth and development and gave parents an opportunity to provide an environment that would help support baby’s lifelong health.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2019