Mothers must breastfeed babies for 2 years, insist doctors

KABUL (Pajhwok): Health experts and religious scholars advise mothers to breastfeed their infants for two years because breastfeeding plays a vital role in the health of both child and the mother.

However, some mothers give their babies formula or cow milk instead of their own.

Dr. Malalai Faizi, director of Malalai maternity hospital in Kabul, told Pajhwok Afghan News: “Breast milk contains many components, including basic cells, white blood cells, and useful bacteria, as well as other active biological components such as antibodies, enzymes and hormones.”

She said all these substances were significant in fighting germs, preventing disease and also essential for the normal growth of the child.

She also insisted on the importance of breastfeeding a child until two years of age and said: “Breastfeeding is a must for babies. Mothers who breastfeed their children, they become physically and mentally strong and healthy.”

She said babies breastfed in the first six months were less likely to suffer from digestive problems (stomach and intestines) and other diseases such as cold, flu, ear or chest infection.

“No food is healthy for a baby except breast milk, when the baby sucks from the mother’s breast, the beneficial hormones of the mother’s body also increase,” she explained.

According to her, mothers who breastfeed their children develop an emotional tie between them, prevent breast cancer, regulate distance between children, and prevent the mother from gaining more weight.

She added mother’s milk was healthy and economical and contained all vitamins.

Najm-ul-Sama Shafajo, specialist of maternity ward in Shafajo private hospital, said: “Breastfeeding is beneficial for both mother and baby, mother’s milk is significant for the growth of the child. If a baby is breastfed from both breasts for more than 15 minutes, it prevents mothers from getting pregnant again and again.”

She added: “Breast milk has many benefits for the baby, it plays an important role in the physical and mental growth of the baby.”

“Mothers should only breastfeed their children up to six months because a child’s growth is linked to mother’s milk,” Shafajo added.

Mufti Shams-ul-Rahman Frotan, a religious scholar in Kabul city, told Pajhwok: “In accordance with Sharia, breastfeeding a child is obligatory.”

He said: “Allah (swt) in the holy book Quran says that mothers should give milk to their children up to two years, but if the baby does not need breast milk before two years, the mother can stop breastfeeding.”

According to him, if a mother deliberately doesn’t breastfeed her child, she violates the rights of the baby.

He added: “If a child does not eat the mother’s milk or the mother lacks the milk, the father must find a woman who breastfeed the child.”

sa/ma

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