Brelfies help break down breast-feeding stigma, says UN

31 July 2016 - 02:00 By Reuters

If you're hesitating about sending a brelfie, the UN says go for it.A social media trend of mothers sharing "brelfies" - pictures of themselves breast-feeding - is a good way to break down stigma about breast-feeding in public and spread the word about the importance of mother's milk, the UN said."It's absolutely to be encouraged," World Health Organisation spokeswoman Fadéla Chaib told a regular UN briefing in Geneva when asked about the brelfie fad.World Breast-feeding Week starts tomorrow and Christophe Boulierac, a spokesman for Unicef, said the UN wanted to get people talking about breast-feeding to improve infant nutrition around the world."Everything that can be done should be done. This is a golden opportunity," he said.Unicef said 77 million newborns, about half of all babies, were not fed at the breast within an hour of birth, depriving them of the essential nutrients, antibodies and skin-to-skin contact that protect them from disease.Babies who get no breast milk at all are seven times more likely to die from infections than those who got at least some breast milk in their first six months, Unicef said...

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