Early Breastfeeding Practices in Cambodia

      As I began to think about this blog assignment I started to explore several of the topics on the list.  I wanted to get pieces of information before I made a decision on the topic I would write about.  During this exploration also decided to narrow the search to South East Asia.  I found that many countries in South East Asia have similar feeding practices during the first 6 months of a child's life and similar outcomes in-regards-to nutrition and physical growth.  I have chosen to highlight these practices with information on to Cambodia.  45% of all Cambodian children under the age of 5 are malnourished and show signs of stunted growth (Cambodia Falls Short of Early Childhood Nutrition Goals, 2012).  Much of this can be contributed to poor feeding practices.  I will now highlight those practices which take place in the first 6 months of life and are associated with breastfeeding

     The World Health Organization recommends that infants be put to their mother's breast for a first feeding within 60 minutes of delivery.  In Cambodia only 11% of all infants born are breastfed in the first hour of life and 1 in 4 are breastfed in the first day of life (Cambodia, 2012) .  When the newborns miss out on this practice they not only miss out on the health benefits of colostrum, the rich protein filled fluid a mother's mammary glands produces in the first few days after the birth of her child, but also the initial bonding period early breastfeeding offers.

     The World Health Organization also recommends that infants be exclusively breastfed for through the first 6 months of life.  Most infants in Cambodia are given both other types of fluids and are  introduced to solid food well before this benchmark.   Introduction of solid foods is often a time when malnutrition begins to take place (Cambodia, 2012)  Exclusive breastfeeding provides the proper nutritional and caloric needs of an infant.  It also provides exposure to pathogens and reduces infants risk of infection (Cambodia, 2012).

    As I move forward in this work I would like to spend more time investigating ways healthier early feeding practices are being supported in Cambodia and all of South East Asia.

Reference

Cambodia Falls Short of Early Childhood Nutrition Goals. (2012) Population Reference Bureau  Retrieved from Population Reference Bureau website http://www.prb.org/Articles/2003/CambodiaFallsShortofEarlyChildhoodNutritionGoals.aspx