Published on: 2026-07-31
Source: United Nations – United Nations –
An important disclaimer is at the bottom of this article.
July 31, 2026 Healthcare
Breastfeeding is the oldest symbol of motherhood and an opportunity for a mother to establish a connection with her newborn from the very first days of life. For a long time, it was regarded as a natural process that did not require special knowledge or preparation. However, in practice, many women encounter difficulties.
Fatigue, conflicting advice, lack of support, and emotional vulnerability after childbirth often cause women to give up breastfeeding or stop earlier than they had planned.
On the eve of World Breastfeeding Week, which begins on August 1, Vera Artemova, a midwife, doula, natural feeding consultant, and head of the doula service at the Lapino Clinical Hospital “Mother and Child” (Moscow region), told the UN News Service in an interview why even an experienced mother may need professional assistance, how to prepare for breastfeeding, and what role family, employers, and society should play in supporting women.
Benefits for mother and child
The World Health Organization (WHO) emphasizes that breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure a child’s health. According to Vera Artemova, this benefit is primarily explained by the unique composition of breast milk, which changes at different stages of lactation depending on the child’s needs. “For the baby, breast milk is a unique product with the richest composition, created personally for them,” she noted.
Indeed, as WHO notes, breast milk provides the child with essential nutrients during the first six months of life and contains antibodies that help protect the child from infections. Furthermore, unlike infant formulas with a fixed composition, breast milk is easier and faster to digest and absorb by the immature digestive system of the baby, allowing the baby to direct more energy towards growth and development. In the long term, children who were breastfed are less likely to face overweight and obesity during childhood and adolescence, and also show higher scores on tests of intellectual development.
Naturally does not simply mean
Photo provided by the “Mother and Child” clinic. Breastfeeding consultant Vera Artemova.
However, the benefits of breastfeeding are received not only by the child but also by the mother. “Both individuals—the mother and the child—are interested in breastfeeding. You cannot single out one person in this pair,” emphasized the expert. For example, lactation aids hormonal regulation—the woman’s body releases oxytocin, which promotes uterine contractions and helps the woman recover after childbirth, and prolonged breastfeeding reduces the risk of developing breast cancer.
“Women who breastfeed for a long time are less likely to face this disease. This is an important contribution to a woman’s health in the long term,” Artemova noted.
However, despite the fact that breastfeeding can be considered a beneficial and natural process, it does not always establish itself automatically. Often, a woman does not receive timely qualified support. As a result, most new mothers leave maternity wards without important recommendations on breastfeeding and introducing complementary feeding.
According to WHO and UNICEF, only 15 percent of countries include nutrition issues for infants and young children in training programs for doctors and nurses working with young mothers.
In the absence of professional recommendations, Vera Artemova advises preparing for breastfeeding during pregnancy. Understanding the basic principles of lactation helps a woman navigate conflicting information, recognize common myths, and know when it is necessary to consult a specialist.
“When a woman is informed, it is very difficult to confuse her. After childbirth, there is usually neither the strength nor the resources to study information, and it is especially difficult to make sense of everything in an emotional state,” she noted.
Help is needed even by experienced mothers
Qualified assistance may be needed even by experienced mothers, as the arrival of a new child presents new challenges for the woman, and previous experience does not always provide answers to the emerging questions.
“All children are absolutely different. With each child, it’s as if you become a new mother again and go through everything for the first time. They throw new challenges at us, and thanks to this we develop, become more patient, and learn to see the world more broadly,” Artemova said.
Therefore, seeking help, she emphasized, should not be seen as a sign of inexperience or failure: “It is difficult for us to look at ourselves from the outside. When a specialist comes, they can more quickly see the problem and find a solution. It is not scary to make a mistake or not figure things out. What is scary is not calling the person who will come and help in time.”
Also read:
Almost half of the infants on the planet up to six months old are fed exclusively breast milk
The role of society and employers
The ability to continue breastfeeding for an extended period largely depends on the attitude of loved ones, the employer, and society as a whole. In the first weeks after childbirth, a woman is especially vulnerable, so criticism and unsolicited advice can undermine her confidence. That is why one of WHO’s priorities is overcoming the problem of stigmatization of breastfeeding women and creating a friendly and safe environment for them.
For Vera Artemova, creating such an environment begins with the readiness of those around to respect the woman’s decision and to stand by her side. “If a woman says, ‘I want to breastfeed,’ then everyone around should support her choice and be on her side,” she emphasized. According to her, it is important for society to consider not only the mother’s choice but also the child’s need to receive nourishment whenever it is necessary. “I think people need to be reminded about the child’s rights as well,” the expert added.
If a woman says, “I want to breastfeed,” then everyone around her should support her choice and be on her side
For women for whom it is important or necessary to return to work after giving birth, the ability to continue breastfeeding largely depends on the conditions at the workplace. According to Artemova, expressing milk is a “delicate and sensitive process” that requires calm and privacy for the woman. That is why the employer must provide a separate room with access to water and a refrigerator for storing milk, as well as schedule regular breaks for expressing milk, and in case meals are provided to employees, consider the increased energy needs of a nursing woman, since the body requires about 500 additional kilocalories per day just to produce breast milk.
“You don’t need to wait for help – you need to organize it.”
However, the expert noted that despite everything, most of the care still falls on the breastfeeding mother’s family, so Artemova advises arranging who will take on the household chores and organizational issues even before childbirth.
“You shouldn’t wait for help – you need to organize it,” she noted.
It was her own experience of motherhood and understanding how important timely support is that led Artemova to the profession. “My motherhood led me to this work. It’s a common story: women go through their own experiences and realize how important it is to help others,” she said.
According to Vera Artemova, there is no universal form of support: one woman needs detailed explanations, another needs more empathy, and a third just needs to be listened to. Communities of mothers, in which women share experiences without judgment, can play a special role in providing such support.
“Sometimes the most important thing is to make a woman understand: ‘I understand you. It really is difficult, but if anything, I’m here for you,'” says Artemova.
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