• 30% of births in Jordan are less than two years old, contrary to international recommendations

• Only 11% of children are dependent on breast milk in the Kingdom

• Anti-poverty activities should include a focus on the resort to low-income families to rely on breast milk to feed their newborns

The Compass – The first week of August of each year coincides with the Breastfeeding Week, during which activities are held to remind families, the public, managers of health programs and anti-poverty programs of the great benefits that accrue to mothers and newborns, the family budget, the health system and the national economy when the newborn depends on breast milk for feeding only During the six months of his life, and continue to breastfeed for at least the first year of his life.

The Higher Population Council confirmed in a press statement, Monday, that the period of pure breastfeeding is very short in Jordan, where the median period of pure breastfeeding is 0.9 months, and only a quarter of children (24%) at the age (2-3 months) are still exclusively breastfed. Dependent on breast milk only, and this percentage in Jordan is much lower than the regional average of 34%. Besides, the percentage of children dependent on breast milk only in Jordan drops to 11% among children aged (4-5 months).

The council indicated that there are other missed opportunities, due to the fact that breastfeeding is also a natural means of reproductive regulation. The short period of pure breastfeeding makes the period of menopause in the postpartum period short, and the chances of relying on this as a means to avoid early pregnancy after childbirth is an ineffective behavior. The term “LAM” is used to describe women who indicated the use of exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of childbirth as a means of delaying the next pregnancy, and their percentage in Jordan is only 1.1%.

He pointed out that the data of the recent Population and Family Health Survey showed that about 30% of births in Jordan did not exceed two years after the birth of their predecessors, contrary to international recommendations. Effective in regulating reproduction.

According to the current prices in Jordanian pharmacies, the average monthly cost for a Jordanian family, due to its resort to buying manufactured infant milk, is about 55 dinars per month, according to the statement.

The Council pointed out that breastfeeding is the best food for newborns and infants, as research has shown that adolescents and adults who have been exclusively breastfed are less likely to be overweight and obese, and have shown an improvement in IQ test results, in addition to helping to avoid a third of respiratory infections, It reduces the risk of sudden infant deaths by more than a third.

In addition, breast milk contains all the nutrients that the child needs during the first six months, and a group of factors that protect the child, the most important of which are strengthening the immune system that helps the child to resist infection and disease, and the development of the eyes, brain, jaw and other body systems, and reduce It also reduces the risk of postpartum depression and diabetes among mothers, and also reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancer later in life.

The World Bank estimates that there is a return of up to $35 for every $1 invested in promoting and protecting breastfeeding.

The World Breastfeeding Association led by UNICEF and the World Health Organization has called on countries, including Jordan, to take policy actions focused on investing in providing experienced breastfeeding advice to every woman during pregnancy visits, and training of health care workers (midwives and nurses). To provide expert advice to mothers and families in the field of breastfeeding, partnership and cooperation with civil society, health professional associations and anti-poverty programs through building strong collaborative systems to provide appropriate advice, protection of health care workers from the influence of marketing circles in baby food factories, and the implementation of the Code of Prohibition Marketing breast-milk substitutes, extending maternity leave, job protection for working mothers, and increasing the number of child-friendly hospitals.