06/15/2025 | News release | Distributed by Public on 06/15/2025 20:13
Nassau, The Bahamas, June 14, 2025 - In keeping with the 2025 World Health Day theme "Healthy beginnings, hopeful futures", the Pan American World Health Organization/World Health Organization (PAHO/WHO) is supporting the Ministry of Health of The Bahamas with the promotion of breast feeding as a crucial element for a child's healthy development and overall well-being as part of the maternal and child health programme.
Breastfeeding is the optimal way of feeding babies, offering them the nutrients they need in the right balance, protecting them against diseases, while offering a number of health benefits to the mother. The World Health Organization recommends that babies be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life, followed by the introduction of nutritionally adequate and safe complementary foods, and with continued breastfeeding up to two years old or beyond. In celebration of World Breastfeeding Protection Day on 21 May and to support The Bahamas in promoting breastfeeding, PAHO/WHO arranged a number of public education initiatives which included television and radio interviews on the topic and the donation of breastfeeding promotion posters for health care facilities. Small packages of breastfeeding items were given to pregnant women attending antenatal care, encouraging them to participate in scheduled educational sessions which focus on the benefits of breast feeding for mother and infants.