Providing Breast Milk Has A Positive Impact On Mothers And Babies, As Well As The Environment

Breastfeeding not only has health benefits, but also has an impact on the environment. (Unsplash)

JAKARTA Providing breast milk (ASI) to newborns until the age of two turns out to not only provide benefits to mothers and children, but also the environment. Breast milk is a free and safe resource that is perfect for human babies who help minimize environmental impacts.

In an era where climate change is a topic that is no longer a layman, nutritional fulfillment from children to adults is almost always associated with how to prepare food without having to have an impact on the environment.

Breastfeeding is considered the most sustainable form of baby feeding.

However, the provision of breast milk has not been widely discussed in global discussions on climate and public health policies.

According to Sally air-Mills, lactation counselors from Leeds, breast milk does not require packaging, shipping or disposal. Breast milk also does not cause pollution or waste of scarce resources.

Breast milk is a free and safe resource that is perfect for babies and helps minimize environmental impacts.

"There is no other health behavior that has such a wide and long-term impact on public health", said worry-Mills.

"Protection, support, and promotion of breastfeeding help maintain the health of the planet and menusia by minimizing environmental damage," he added.

As is known together, breastfeeding contributes very importantly to realizing the right to nutrition and health standards, the right to food and the right to life.

Meanwhile, the lack of breast milk can have a negative impact on cognitive development and child life opportunities. UNICEF and WHO explained that breastfeeding can also be considered the first vaccine for children.

However, at almost the same time, formula milk marketing is increasingly occurring in the community. The massive promotion of formula milk raises the perception that this can meet the nutritional needs of babies that cannot be breastfed.

Quoting WHO, currently more than half of children in the world receive substances other than breast milk in the first six months of their lives. The sale of formula milk has also increased rapidly in line with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita and the expansion of the market economy.

The food industry, particularly milk and meat production, accounts for about 30 percent of global greenhouse gases.

The formula is made from powder cow's milk. The methane produced from livestock is strong and significant greenhouse gas. Meanwhile, cow's milk production requires water up to 4,700 liters per kilogram of powder.

After reaching consumers, baby formula milk is also made with water that has been heated up to at least 70 degrees Celsius. The energy used is equivalent to filling out 200 million cellphones every year.

"Production of baby formulas that are not necessary will exacerbate environmental damage and must be a problem that increases global concern," said experts at The British Medical Journal.

Regarding the waste left behind, a 2009 study showed that 550 million absorptive cans, consisting of 86 thousand tons of metal and 364 thousand tons of paper, were added to the landfill each year.

But so far the relationship between breastfeeding and the environment has not been discussed too often. The main breast milk discussion is still about health benefits for mothers and children, including preventing stunting.

In fact, as mentioned earlier, breastfeeding has a big impact on the environment.

A number of new reports led by Australian experts, including those from the University of Sydney, say breastfeeding can be a carbon offset or carbon offset, helping to break free from the economic dependence on formula milk that causes excess greenhouse gas emissions.

"Caring for and feeding children, including breastfeeding, is a job that relies heavily on gender that is often neglected and economically underestimated," said Dr Phillip Baker of Sydney University.

"We see the lack of investment by the government in supporting women and families who want to breastfeed," he added.

According to Baker, the government needs to further recognize women's contribution to sustainable food production, including breast milk, in international and national food balances.

The researchers said the call to consider lactating as carbon compensation was not solely aimed at women who had non-feeding or who needed to use reform, but rather calls for the government to act.

With the view that breastfeeding is a carbon balancer, researchers encourage governments to change their way of thinking to reduce demand for food products with high greenhouse gas emissions, and invest in sustainable food production.

Meanwhile, Natalie Shenker, Future Leaders Fellow UKRI at Imperial College London, and colleagues highlighted research showing that six months of breastfeeding saves about 95-153 kg of CO2 per baby compared to giving formula milk.

The savings in carbon emissions obtained by supporting breastfeeding mothers will be the same as reducing between 50 thousand and 77 thousand cars every year.

Therefore, the researchers called for urgent action by the government to support breastfeeding as part of a global commitment to reduce carbon footprint in every area of life.