Exclusive breastfeeding helps combat pneumonia

MANILA, Philippines - This Monday, November 12, marks World Pneumonia Day, and did you know that exclusive breastfeeding helps stave off this killer disease among children?

This is according to the World Health Organization (WHO), which underlined the importance of breastfeeding in the first six months of life to combat pneumonia.

Pneumonia annually accounts for 18 percent of all deaths among children under five years old worldwide.

"While most healthy children can fight the infection with their natural defenses, children whose immune systems are compromised are at higher risk of developing pneumonia. A child's immune system may be weakened by malnutrition or undernourishment, especially in infants who are not exclusively breastfed," the WHO said.

The WHO added that aside from being effective in preventing pneumonia, exclusive breastfeeding also helps reduce a child's length of illness.

The WHO estimates that 1.4 million under the age of five die each year because of the disease, which causes "rapid or difficult breathing, cough, fever, chills, loss of appetite and wheezing."

The number is more than the combined deaths caused by AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis around the world.

Aside from exclusive breastfeeding, the WHO recommends immunization against Hib, pneumococcus, measles and whooping cough; the practice of good hygiene especially in crowded households; and ensuring good indoor air quality as the most effective means to prevent pneumonia.