TACLOBAN CITY- On top of the vaccine, breast milk could have minimized the number of measles-infected babies and infants in the region.
So said Dr. Exuperia Sabelberino, assistant regional director (ARD) of the Department of Health 8 (DOH-8) during the inauguration ceremony of the Human Milk Bank on Thursday, Feb. 28, at the Eastern Visayas Regional Medical Center (EVRMC), here.
“Babies are protected from diseases when mothers breastfeed them exclusively from birth to six months and up to two years,” she said.
“However, there is a very low coverage in the region, of mothers who are feeding their babies with their milk only, despite the best quality that is being told them by health workers and media,” she added.
Sabelberino recalled that in the olden days, there were lesser babies who were affected by measles, six months after birth, because they were fed exclusively with their mother’s milk.
“In the recent days, however, babies as young as three months were already reported to have been infected with the highly viral disease, some even died,” she lamented.
“It could be because many mothers today, either are not aware or refuse to believe that the human milk is filled with substances that are not present in animal’s milk nor in other commercial formula,” she pointed out.
“Breastfeeding should be a multi-sectoral concern, from correct information, advocacy campaign to behavior change and practices, because breastfeeding is more than just a nutrition,” Dr. Sabelberino concluded.
(AEN/PIA-8)
