This World Breastfeeding Week, the IAEA is calling for more countries to provide input to a unique database. The IAEA's Database on Human Milk Intake has been built using information generated from a nuclear technique that accurately measures breast milk intake. The technique also gives an objective indication of exclusive breastfeeding. To fully realize the potential of the database, more reliable data is needed, in particular from high-income countries.
World Breastfeeding Week falls in the first week of August, and is an initiative aimed at protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding across different levels of society. According to the World Health Organization, feeding an infant exclusively with breast milk for the first six months of their life protects against infections and related infant mortality.
The IAEA's Database on Human Milk Intake is a repository of data obtained from 34 countries so far using the deuterium oxide dose-to-mother (DTM) technique, that yields information not only on how much breast milk breastfed infants consume, but also indicates whether infants below six months of age are exclusively breastfed.
However, a dearth of data, particularly from high-income countries, is preventing researchers from fully understanding disparities in breastfeeding practices around the globe. Larger data sets are needed to help close this evidence gap and inform on policies contributing to improved breastfeeding practices worldwide.
Data from IAEA Human Milk Intake Database.
"The evidence published so far only comes from a few countries. In order to make firmer conclusions that could aid policy and practice, we need more data," said Victor Ochieng Owino, a nutrition specialist at the IAEA. "The available evidence is mainly from the Global South, so going forward, it would be important to see data from the Global North as well."
The IAEA helps countries use a non-radioactive or stable isotope technique to measure breast milk intake and determine if the infant is being exclusively breastfed. This noninvasive technique (DTM) is more accurate for measuring exclusivity of breastfeeding than the most commonly used approach of self-reporting by mothers on what kind of foods and liquids they feed their children. The DTM technique traces the flow of deuterium, a naturally occurring stable isotope of hydrogen as it is transferred via breast milk from the mother to her infant during breastfeeding. The IAEA encourages countries to use this technique to monitor progress towards achieving exclusive breastfeeding targets. However, not many high-income countries have used this method to date to measure breast milk intake and exclusivity of breastfeeding.
