President of the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Nurses’ Association (SVGNA) Susanna Forde is convinced that because top regional and local CXC performer Kamal Wood was fed continuously with breast milk as a baby, this might have helped in his academic performance.{{more}}

Forde made her feelings known last Friday as the St. Vincent and the Grenadines Nurses’ Association recognised Wood for his performance at CXC.

During a small ceremony at the Out Patient Department of the Milton Cato Memorial Hospital, Forde said that as a nurse, “we subscribe to the view that breast is best”, and, “have no doubt that Sister Wood, with encouragement from her husband, would have fed Kamal well with breast milk”.

Forde revealed that research has now shown that children who are fully breast fed up to six months after birth are more likely to excel academically.

A release from the US Food and Drug Administration states when it comes to nutrition, the best first food for babies is breast milk.

The release says that more than two decades of research have established that breast milk is perfectly suited to nourish infants and protect them from illness. Breast-fed infants have lower rates of hospital admissions, ear infections, diarrhoea, rashes, allergies, and other medical problems than bottle-fed babies.

Quoting Johnson 2004, Forde said, “Breast milk contains a longer chain of essential fatty acids that are necessary for brain growth and brain development.”

Forde added that human infants can only synthesize these fatty acids from breast milk and not from other milk substitutes.

She encouraged mothers to always breast-feed their children as, “We must not be selfish and laud praises on the conviction of nurses who continue to promote breast feeding.”