Health experts have proven that not enough breastfeeding costs the global economy $1 billion each day. The world could save $341 billion each year if mothers breastfeed their children for longer, helping prevent early death and various diseases.
Infant mortality rate due to malnutrition are commonly used indicators of the social and commonly used indicators of the social and economic development of a population. However, fewer than 40 percent of infants worldwide are exclusively nursed for the first six months of life as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO), The United Nations (UN), and other authorities.
High angle portrait of young African-American mother breastfeeding cute baby boy with child looking at camera, copy space
Experts add that breastfeeding sets up a baby’s immune system. It decreases its risk of many illnesses and cuts a mother’s risk of breast and ovarian cancer for life. Nigerian mothers fare badly in the exclusive breastfeeding of infants which have lead to about 56,00 deaths per 1,00 live births.
In 2016, the leading medical journal, The Lancet, published a Breastfeeding Series that reviewed and analyzed extensive scientific data on breastfeeding. The findings affirm what many experts have known for generations: breastfeeding can offer life-saving benefits to children and women in every country. The Lancet Breastfeeding Series found measurable impact of breastfeeding on maternal and child survival, health, nutritional status, educational outcomes, and economic productivity. Improving breastfeeding practices could save hundreds of thousands of lives and add billions of dollars to the global economy annually.
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Among several predictors of infant survival, inadequate breastfeeding remains a major problem. There is a common saying that when a woman breastfeeds a child, she saves the country from losing a potential part of its human resources and capacity.
This is because studies have shown that children breastfed exclusively turn out to be smarter, more organized, and more stable productive adults.
At the societal level, this leads to a loss of Gross National Income (GNI) estimated at 0.06 percent, or $150 million (USD) annually.
Keith Hansen of the World Bank said “When we nourish a child with breastfeeding, we drive future economic growth”. So women use you breast and save your infants.
