SCIENTISTS have proved that breastfed babies have a healthier start to life, as human milk contains a balance of nutrients that closely matches infant requirements for brain development, growth and a healthy immune system. During the past 15 years, the importance of breastfeeding has been recognised as one of the most valuable medical contributions to infant health. However, some mothers have difficulty breastfeeding their infants, perhaps because they have an infectious disease or have given birth to twins. Infant formula is becoming the safe alternative to mothers' milk, as was stressed at the Expert Forum on Child Health and Nutrition. The forum, held in Cairo last week, was attended by around 250 experts in the field of infant nutrition and health from Arab countries including Egypt, as well as from the US and the UK. According to Secretary- General of the Egyptian Paediatrics Society Sherif Abdel-Aal, there are calls to amend the Labour Law, in order to increase the maternity leave for working mothers from three months to six months, so they have more time to breastfeed their babies. "A mother's milk improves her child's skills and mental and motor growth," Abdel-Aal noted, describing the first six months of the child's life as the golden period when his intelligence improves the most, especially if he is breastfed. Professor of paediatrics J. Carver from the US revealed that the idea, launched 20 years ago, of setting up banks to keep mothers' milk failed because it was difficult to implement. She said that, in any case, such banks could lead to the transmission of certain infectious diseases. Prof. Carver added that far fewer women in the US and UK breastfeed their babies than in Scandinavian countries, where around 85 per cent of mothers breastfeed. Professor of Paediatrics at Cairo University Ahmed el- Belidi highlighted the impact of nutrition on the digestive system of children and the role of alpha-lactalbumin as a protein, which is predominant in breast milk, in order to encourage the infant to feed. It also helps their digestion. Mohamed Abdel-Khaleq, regional manager of Africa and Middle East for an American pharmaceutical company, referred to research into developing an infant formula to compensate newborns who cannot be breastfed. “The omega 3 in infant formula makes it similar tomothers' milk,” said Abdel- Khaleq, adding that his company has been in talks with the Egyptian Ministry of Health about selling this formula locally. Dr Hamed el-Khayat, a paediatrician, who works at Ain Shams University in Cairo, stressed the importance of breastfeeding newborns, adding that infant formula should only be resorted to in case of necessity. “No Egyptian companies produce infant formula; it is all imported,” he said, urging mothers not to give their babies cow's milk, because it contains far less iron than mothers' milk, which should be a child's sole source of nutrition for the first six months of his life.
