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Breast still best, but local moms unconvinced
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NEW mothers are being encouraged to breastfeed their babies after a survey discovered that just 35 percent of local moms do so exclusively.
“We always encourage women to breastfeed their babies, and talk to them about it before and after birth,” said Dr Jin Hongmei from the obstetrics department at Zhongshan Hospital in Qingpu District.
“Breastfeeding helps to boost a baby’s immune system, and the earlier it starts, the bigger the benefit,” Jin said.
In a poll of 3,000 new mothers of infants aged up to 4 months, 65 percent said they used either a combination of breastfeeding and baby formula, or just formula. The study was conducted at maternity facilities in Changning District with the results released to coincide with National Breastfeeding Day.
Dr Sun Jianqin from Huadong Hospital said mothers should realize that breastfeeding is good for them as well as their babies, and shouldn’t give up on it.
“According to research, about 70 percent of women who suffer from problems such as uterine myoma did not breastfeed their babies, or only breastfed them for a very short period of time,” she said.
The World Health Organization recommends exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.
Many of the mothers surveyed said they gave up on it because they couldn’t produce enough milk. But experts have said the lack of milk is often a result of inexperience in breastfeeding and is easily resolved.
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