Breast Is Best, But Not in Swaziland

Lindiwe Dlamini nurses her six-week-old baby boy. Credit: Mantoe Phakathi/IPSBy Mantoe PhakathiMBABANE, Jan 7 2014 (IPS) Smiling as she breastfeeds her six-week-old baby boy, Lindiwe Dlamini, 38, is optimistic about his future. Dlamini, who is HIV-positive, is determined that her baby will not be infected. The mother of three – who conceived her first two children when she was HIV-negative – was on antiretroviral therapy (ART) when she delivered a healthy boy in November. Now she is feeding him on breast milk and nothing else for six months – advice she received during antenatal care. She knows mother’s milk is more nutritious and carries antibodies. “Breastfeeding is the most affordable method for me because I’m unemployed, but I wasn’t so sure considering my status,” Dlamini told IPS.FAST FACTS • WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months • Breastfeeding should begin within one hour of birth • Breastfeeding should be "on demand", as often as the child wants day and night • Bottles or pacifiers should be avoided • At six months, complementary solid foods, such as mashed fruits and vegetables, should be introduced Source: WHO Half of all new episodes of HIV transmission to children occur during breastfeeding if mothers are not on ART, says the Joint United Nations Programme on AIDS (UNAIDS). Alarmingly, although Swaziland recorded a 38-percent decline in new HIV infections among children between 2009-2012, seven out of 10 m...
Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - Category: Global & Universal Authors: Tags: Africa Countdown to ZERO Editors' Choice Featured Gender Headlines Health Poverty & MDGs TerraViva Europe TerraViva United Nations Women's Health breastfeeding HIV/AIDS Maternal and Child Health Mothers to Mothers Swaziland Source Type: news