The National Population and Family Planning Agency (BKKBN) underscored the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to prevent deaths and other conditions, including stunting, among infants and children under the age of five owing to poor nutrition.

Exclusive breastfeeding is deemed to be the best practice to improve the health of mothers and children.

Through his statement received here on Wednesday, BKKBN’s official, M. Rizal. M. Damanik, noted that in recent years, developing countries had encountered numerous challenges that affected the health of mothers and children and were causal to the high death rate.

The death rate is related to the number of mothers who died during labor, the infant mortality rate, and mortality rate of children under the age of five per one thousand children within a year.

During the Global Family Forum on Best Practices In Reproductive Health And Stunting Reduction held in a hybrid format on Tuesday, he informed that numerous research work indicated that exclusive breastfeeding could significantly prevent stunting.

Children not given exclusive breastfeeding were at a three-fold greater risk of experiencing stunting as compared to those who were given breast milk exclusively.

Unfortunately, mothers continue to face numerous obstacles to provide exclusive breastfeeding to their children that reduced the production of breast milk.

Damanik had personally conducted a research on the use of Indonesian local herb that was proven to stimulate breast milk production.

This herb, named torbangun, or Coleus amoinicus lour, is rich in vitamin C and can also act as body immunity booster.

In addition, the BKKBN noted that at least three Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) concerning the problem of reproduction health and stunting — SDGs No. 2.2, 3.2, and 5.6 — should be achieved by 2030.

Source: Antara News