Bringing Care to Life
Breastfeeding series underway
A new series on breastfeeding is one of our top priorities this year. Estimates indicate that as many as half of the three million newborn deaths that occur each year worldwide could be prevented with increases in breastfeeding rates and improvements in breastfeeding practices. Practical visual guidance for health workers and mothers—just what our teaching videos are designed to provide—will help many women who might otherwise give up breastfeeding during the first six months due to lack of support. The breastfeeding films are partially funded by grants from the Laerdal and Vitol Foundations.
The key role of breastfeeding in the health and survival of newborns is in the spotlight this week, as described by Ian Hurley of the Healthy Newborn Network. August 1-7 is World Breastfeeding Week—sponsored by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action—which focuses attention on “the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding in the Millennium Development Goals countdown, and beyond.” (Photo: Jonathan Hyams/Save the Children from Ian Hurley, Photo of the Week)