World Alliance for Breastfeeding (WABA) celebrates World Breastfeeding Week for the eighth consecutive year in over 100 countries.

WABA Action Folder -   Breastfeeding: Education for Life, click here.

The following excerpt is quoted from the WABA Action Folder 1999.

"All over the world there is increasing knowledge and concern about early child development and “significant interactions” in the family. There is widespread interest in improving the quality of child care and in integrating knowledge about the needs of the developing child into our educational systems and content. However, the significance of breastfeeding for human development and the quality of life of families is rarely considered.

The exciting “news” from ongoing research is that BREASTFEEDING IS not only important for health, nutrition and the development of a baby’s trust and sense of security, but enhances brain development and learning readiness as well (See Box on P. 3 and page 6 for list of references).

• Special fatty acids in breast milk lead to increased intelligence quotients (IQs) and better visual acuity (Andraca I and Uauy R, 1995, See reference on P. 6).
• Breastfed babies have fewer ear infections, which have been associated with hearing loss and learning delays.
• Several studies have shown better school achievement in breastfed children, even at the end of secondary school and when controlling for social class, mother’s education and race.

Therefore, this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) theme addresses the need to integrate information on the importance of breastfeeding into our educational systems at all levels."

Be sure to visit one of the PHFE-WIC information fairs in Los Angeles County, click here for more details.