As the nation concludes the breastfeeding week, the Ministry of
health and social welfare has clarified that there are exceptions to
exclusive breastfeeding especially due to medical conditions faced by
the lactating mother.
In an exclusive interview with The Guardian yesterday in Dar es
Salaam, Dr Seif Rashid, Minister for Health and Social Welfare Minister
said; ‘there are situations that call for exceptions like when the
mother is sick, malnourished or deceased, in these cases then baby
formula milk is recommended in accordance to the prescription and
guidelines of the healthcare specialists.”
“So you can’t completely say, do not give babies formula,’ he said
citing that this is misinformation and must be corrected lest it
misleads the public.
Dr Rashid was responding to the query over a media print by a local
newspaper published August 10 with the headline ‘women should not use
formula’.
Reached for comments key sector stakeholder Marsha Macatta-Yambi
the Scientific and Regulatory Affairs Manager of Nestle that produces
baby formula clarified that; “most people confuse powder milk and baby
formula, the former is regular milk but formula is special for children
of specified ages.”
“At Nestle we advocate mother’s milk is best but we account for
cases where mother’s milk is not available and we produce baby formula
in accordance to standards and composition guidelines,” she said citing
the Global Strategy for Infants and Young Child Feeding and World Health
Assembly Resolution WHA54.2 (2001).
There is formula specific for newborns 0-6 months called the
starter formula and then there is the follow up formula for babies of 6
months to 1 year, she detailed.
“It is very wrong to say mothers should not use formula because the
baby’s survival depends on a substitute when mother’s milk is not
available,” she cautioned.
Infant formula refers to a breast-milk substitute specially
manufactured to satisfy, by itself, the nutritional requirements of
infants during the first months of life up to the introduction of
appropriate complementary feeding.
In the story, the paper (name withheld) purported to quote WHO but
offered no specific names or title of the official being quoted. The
quote also generally cited that WHO encourages exclusive breastfeeding
but did not ask mothers not to use formula.
However, the WHO recognises the use of formula and along with the
Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) provides
the CODEX STAN 72; standard for infant formula.
The standards also cover ‘formulas for special medical purposes intended for infants.’
The WHO 2015 breastfeeding week message from Director-General, Dr
Margaret Chan and UNICEF Executive Director, Anthony Lake explains;
breastfeeding is the normal way of providing young infants with the
nutrients they need for healthy growth and development.
It notes that, exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6
months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate
complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.
However, the message admits; only 38 per cent of infants around the
world today are breastfed exclusively for even the recommended first
six months of life.
As such, the World Health Assembly has set a global target of
increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates for children under six months
of age to at least 50 per cent by 2025.
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7
August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve
the health of babies around the world.
It commemorates the Innocent Declaration signed in August 1990 by
government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other organisations to protect,
promote and support breastfeeding.SOURCE: THE GUARDIAN
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