Infant feeding guidelines emphasize that breast milk is the best nutrition for infants.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, policy makers and practitioners must learn from mistakes made during the HIV pandemic, when breastfeeding was undermined through isolating infants from their mothers, and formula feeding resulted in more infant deaths than the disease.

Breastfeeding is a powerful weapon in the fight to ensure every child has the best possible start to life, but mothers need access to accurate information and timely support from their family and community; the healthcare system; and their employers.

Breastfeeding is one of the best buys in global health to improve social, health, and economic development outcomes. Globally, improving breastfeeding practices could save more than 820,000 lives annually—87 percent of them infants under six months of age.