This is apropos a letter to the Editor titled “Beyond the breastfeeding campaign” carried by the newspaper yesterday.
It is important to note that little to no breastfeeding is associated with a substantial burden of preventable illness and child deaths, particularly from diarrhoea and pneumonia.
The benefits of improving breastfeeding practices, however, extend beyond survival. Better breastfeeding can enhance infant nutrition, reduce illness and ease financial pressure on families as well as the health system.
Improving breastfeeding rates therefore need to be treated as a vital public-health intervention rather than simply a matter of individual choice.
Hospitals and clinics should make early initiation of breastfeeding routine, provide trained lactation counselling and avoid unnecessary separation of mothers and new-borns. Families also have an important role to play.
Sehrish Qutubzadeh, Karachi
Copyright Business Recorder, 2026
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