Good nutrition during the first 1000 days of an infant can prevent a child from many chronic diseases in future and provides a life time health benefits. however, poor nutrition during first two years of baby's growth and development can may cause baby susceptible to many diseases, infections and vulnerabilities.

IYCF treatments during emergencies prevents and protects a child from being vulnerable to get infections, malnourishments and helps to reduces the mortality and morbidity rates of children's.

Awareness session on IYCF during emergencies ( breast feeding and its importance) at different colleges of Gilgit Baltistan


According to WHO it is highly recommend that the infant or newborn should be exclusively breast feed during the first 6 months after baby's delivery and continued to till 2 years in addition with breast milk.

exclusively breast feed means that baby even should not need to give water as well. As the newborn are even unable to digest water at the first 6 months of their life stage. only mother breast milk can be easily digest by them.

Even in hot or humid environment mother milk can fulfill the baby's requirement of water.

Composition of Breast Milk: 

The composition of mother milk is considered as most unique composition that contain all type of nutrients in sufficient amount that can be easily digest by the baby and provides adequate amount of nutrients that meet the needs of the baby. If we look at the composition of mother milk it contain 90% of water and 10% of nutrients like immunoglobins, hormones, minerals, vitamins etc. The composition of mother's milk changes with the passage of time.
The first milk that is produced after delivery is known a colostrum. This milk produces 1-4 days. As colostrum is considered as one of the best food that you are giving to your baby after delivery. colostrum are rich in all type of nutrients, minerals, vitamins, electrolytes, hormones and most important are immunoglobins that provides immunity to the newborn. As after delivery children's are more vulnerable to get infections. Colostrum provides production from these infections. Helps in production of first baby's stool and reduce jaundice.
Milk produces from 5-20 days are known as transitional milk. In this milk the amount of nutrients are slightly reduced but are sufficient enough to meet the needs of baby.
Milk produces after 20+ days are known as mature milk.
 Mature milk are produces in two intervals:
            Foremilk 
            Hindmilk
Foremilk is that milk produces when mothers start feeding. It is thin and contain high amount of water and some specific amount of nutrients that fulfills that baby's requirement of water and some amount of nutrients.
Hindmilk is the milk that produces some times during feeding. It is thick and yellowish to some extent and contain large amount of fats, calories and nutrients which fulfills the baby's calorie requirements.
so, in order to give baby a proper nourishment it must be given with both foremilk and hindmilk.

Benefits of breast milk:

Breast milk have benefits for both mother and baby. For baby breast milk is a complete food that provides proper nourishment, prevents it from diseases like obesity, CVD's, and diabetes and immunization. However, for mother the most importance of feeding her baby is that it helps in uterine contraction, reduces bleeding, helps mother to gain pre-pregnancy weight, reduce the risk of ovarian and breast cancer, osteoporosis, and diabetes. it also develop a loving relation between mother and child.

Attachments to feed a child ( positions through which mother can feed her baby):

During feeding a mother should kept in mind that the baby is feeding from breast not from the nipples.
Proper attachments are very important in order to give proper nourishment to the child otherwise baby feel unsatisfied and cries alot. 
Three key signs which shows the proper attachment of a baby with mother breast are:
  •  The baby mouth should be open wider.
  •  lower lip of a baby should be open outward.
  • baby's chin is touching the breast.

Side effects of not attaching baby properly:

If the baby are not attaching properly than the baby will suck from nipples. continously sucking from nipples causes the nipples to be:
  •    painful
  •    Engorgement
  •    Mastitis
  •    Low milk production
  •    Swelling
Baby feels unsatisfied and undernourishment occurs.

Common breast feeding difficulties:

Not enough milk: poor suckling, bad breast feeding positions and nutritional defeciencies in mother.

Crying Baby: not getting enough milk causes baby to cry, as the baby does not feel satisfied.
Refusal to breast milk: may cause if the baby is ill, lactose intolerences and poor positioning.
Working women or Busy women that does not have enough time to feed their babies.

Expressing Milk:

a technique in which mother can express her milk by using her hand or a milk drawing appratusinto a jar, cup or bottle having a wider mouth so that whenever a baby requires milk she can feed.
But a mother should take care of proper hygiene and safety. 
At room temperature milk can be stored for 6 hours, refrigerator can be upto 8 days and in deep freezers upto 1 years.


After 6 months a baby should introduce with complementary food in addition with breast milk.
Type of complementary food should be slowly introduced that after every week new food should be given to the child. As with the passage of time nutrients in mother milk drops which are in adequate for the baby. 
In this period baby teeth development starts, child develops neck head coordination and the process of digestion are starts.
          During 6 months complementary food should be given 2 times each day.
          From 6-8 months complementary food should be given 3 times a day.
          From 9-11 months complementary food should be given 3 times with one fruit(banana) a day.
          From 12-24 months complementary food should be given 3 times with 2 snacks a day.

Health risk of not giving exclusive breast feeding and complementary feeding:

Not giving exclusive breast feeding to a child can have several disadvantages:

     Gastrointestinal infections
     metabolic dosorders
     respiratory infections
     ear infections
     Allergies and asthma
     Obesity and diabetes
     SIDS (sudden infant deaths)
     increased risk of ovarian and breast cancer in mothers
     mother can may become pregnant sooner.
If we look at the condition of GB that ratio of exclusively breast feeding is not vulnerable. However, type of complementary food and timing having great issues on GB and the children's are suffering from a lot of morbidity issues due to this.