Exclusive Breastfeeding Recommended for First Six Months to Ensure Child Health

TLDR

• DAR ES SALAAM: THE public has been urged to embrace breastfeeding as a shared responsibility, with families encouraged to support mothers to ensure babies receive the healthiest start in life through safe and successful.
• She explained that exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life lays a critical foundation for a child’s healthy growth, nutrition and immunity, providing all the nutrients and water an infant needs.
• A baby should be exclusively breastfed for the first six consecutive months because the body is not yet capable of digesting or processing any food other than breast milk,” she said.
• According to Ms Joshua, exclusive breastfeeding allows a baby’s digestive system to develop properly before complementary foods are introduced at six months.
• The two organisations recommend initiating breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, exclusively breastfeeding infants for the first six months and continuing breastfeeding alongside appropriate complementary.