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Natural disasters and political unrest can cause populations to
become uprooted.
These events are often associated with a lack of food,
a lack of sanitation,
and refugees massed together in an area where the spread of disease
occurs readily.
Families' lives are disrupted and the availability of services
is markedly decreased.
In many of these situations there is lack of clean water
and ability to safely feed infants breast milk supplements.
The promotion of breastfeeding becomes very important.
It is very easy when bringing in food supplies to request powdered
formula without realizing that there will not be clean water to mix
it with.
Babies who are started on formula after birth cannot be transferred
to breast milk later (
O'Connor, 2001
).
The World Health Organization has published principles that emphasize
the importance of breastfeeding in humanitarian emergencies. These
principles counsel relief organizations on the importance of
breastfeeding promotion, the training of humanitarian aid workers to promote
breastfeeding, and the importance of using safe breast milk
substitutes only when absolutely necessary
WHO, 2004-2
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