Despite all that is known about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding in the first 6 months of a child’s life, breastfeeding rates around the world are still too low. A resolution being drafted at the World Health Assembly this week would go far in protecting mothers from inappropriate promotion of breastmilk substitutes and other foods marketed as suitable for children younger than 3 years old.
The resolution endorses the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidance on Ending the Inappropriate Promotion of Foods for Infants and Young Children. The guidance helps countries, especially those with high rates of malnutrition among women and children in the critical 1,000 days between a woman’s pregnancy and her child’s second birthday, make sense of the evidence and provides common sense recommendations on what is appropriate and what is not when marketing complementary foods for infants and children.
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