“Globally, nearly two out of three infants are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended 6 months – a rate that has not improved in two decades,” the report found.
However, breastfeeding could benefit from better promotion. An increase in breastfeeding rates could save 800,000 child lives every year, according to a major Lancet study published earlier this year.
Breastfeeding also benefits mothers. An increase in breastfeeding could prevent 20,000 deaths from breast cancer every year, the study also found.
Perhaps even more convincingly, the Lancet concluded that breastfed babies grow up to be smarter, gaining an additional three IQ points.
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