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Gender Equality pp 1–15Cite as

Exclusive Breastfeeding: Challenges and Way Forward

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals ((ENUNSDG))

Synonyms

Human milk feeding; Infant feeding practices; Mother’s milk

Definition

Exclusive breastfeeding – Administration of only breast milk to an infant without any additional food or drink not even water.

Noncommunicable diseases – Chronic diseases which are not transmitted from one person to another. These include conditions like diabetes, hypertension, obesity, cancer, and cardiovascular diseases.

Obesity – It is a state of malnutrition which results from excess intake of macronutrients with decreased energy expenditure. It is measured as age- and gender-specific cutoffs of body mass index in children.

Introduction

Breastfeeding is the essential right of every newborn which is often not granted. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends exclusive breastfeeding for about 6 months, with continuation of breastfeeding for 1 year or longer as mutually desired by mother and infant. Breastfeeding is emphasized as it is advantageous to health of both baby and mother (WHO 2011). The...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Paediatrics, Maulana Azad Medical College and associated Lok Nayak Hospital, New Delhi, India

    Aashima Dabas

  2. Department of Pediatrics, Safdarjang Hospital & Vardhman Mahavir Medical College, New Delhi, India

    Harish Chellani

  3. School of Health Sciences, Indira Gandhi National Open University, New Delhi, India

    Tapan Kumar Jena

Authors
  1. Aashima Dabas
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  2. Harish Chellani
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  3. Tapan Kumar Jena
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Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Aashima Dabas , Harish Chellani or Tapan Kumar Jena .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. FTZ-ALS, Hamburg University of Applied Sciences FTZ-ALS, Hamburg, Germany

    Walter Leal Filho

  2. Ctr Neurosci & Cell Biology, 1 Floor, Univ Coimbra, Edf Fac Medicina, Coimbra, Portugal

    Anabela Marisa Azul

  3. Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo University Faculty of Engineering and Architecture, Passo Fundo, Brazil

    Luciana Brandli

  4. Istinye University, Istanbul, Turkey

    Pinar Gökcin Özuyar

  5. International Centre for Thriving, University of Chester, Chester, UK

    Tony Wall

Section Editor information

  1. No affiliation provided

    Chhabi Kumar

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Dabas, A., Chellani, H., Jena, T.K. (2019). Exclusive Breastfeeding: Challenges and Way Forward. In: Leal Filho, W., Azul, A., Brandli, L., Özuyar, P., Wall, T. (eds) Gender Equality. Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70060-1_23-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-70060-1_23-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-70060-1

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-70060-1

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Earth and Environm. ScienceReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Earth and Environmental Sciences

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