Cancer Prevention - Recommendation 9

Recommendation 9:
BREAST FEEDING 
Mothers to breastfeed; children to be breastfed 

Aim to breastfeed infants exclusively up to six months and continue with complementary feeding thereafter. 'Exclusively' means human milk only, with no other food or drink, including water 

The evidence on cancer as well as other diseases shows that sustained, exclusive breastfeeding is protective for the mother as well as the child. 

This is the first major report concerned with the prevention of cancer to make a recommendation specifically on breastfeeding, to prevent breast cancer in mothers and to prevent overweight and obesity in children. Other benefits of breastfeeding for mothers and their children are well known. Breastfeeding protects against infections in infancy, protects the development of the immature immune system, protects against other childhood diseases, and is vital for the development of the bond between mother and child. It has many other benefits. 

Breastfeeding is especially vital in parts of the world where water supplies are not safe and where impoverished families do not readily have the money to buy infant formula and other infant and young child foods. This recommendation has a special significance. While derived from the evidence on being breastfed, it also indicates that policies and actions designed to prevent cancer need to be directed throughout the whole life course, from the beginning of life.