By Naa Shormei Odonkor
Kumasi Sept 19, GNA – Infants who are fed with breast milk substitutes (Formula), have a higher risk of developing Type One and Two diabetes in the future, irrespective of parents’ diabetic status.
This is because, most breast milk substitutes (Formula) contain simple sugar (carbohydrates), which could cause a rapid increase in blood sugar levels and raise the chance of attaining diabetes later in life.
Mr Salifu Fah Fawaz, a Nutritionist with the Ghana Armed Forces Medical Services, who made this known, also said about 40 per cent of babies fed with Formula milk were more likely to become obese than children who were breastfed.
Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in an interview in Kumasi, he said it was important for lactating mothers to breastfeed their infants exclusively for six months, as recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) to ensure that their babies grow healthily.
Mr Fawaz pointed out that Type One and Two diabetes were health conditions which could not be cured but managed.
According to him, most lactating mothers tend to become worried when breastfeeding does not go as expected and begin to ask questions.
Among some of the questions are: “I have just given birth, and my breast is not flowing”, when do I start breastfeeding” and “My baby refuses sucking”.
He said they then introduce breast milk substitutes (Formula) to babies without a doctor’s prescription.
Mr Fawaz said it was normal when breastfeeding mothers did not see a large volume of breast milk within the first few days after delivery.
What the baby needed, Mr. Fawaz said was the colostrum, the first breast milk produced as early as 16 weeks of pregnancy, adding that, “practically you might not see any breast milk in the first 24 hours after birth.”
He urged lactating mothers to breastfeed their newly born babies after 30 minutes of childbirth with the colostrum present in their breasts.
According to him, breastfed babies had reduced chances of developing diseases such as diabetes, obesity, and hypertension.
Additionally, mothers who breastfed their babies also had a lower risk of developing breast cancer, while enhancing child bonding and spacing of children.
Mr Fawaz also revealed that, chances of an infant developing Type one or two diabetes accelerates when the mother has gestational Type 1 or 2 diabetes.
GNA