Breastfeeding and health care services.

Breastfeeding can help prevent the 38,000 daily deaths of infants and young children through its nutritional, immunologic, and sanitary aspects. Nevertheless, it is on the decline in most countries. The World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) have combined to issue guidelines on the role of maternity services in promoting breastfeeding, such as, a hospital breastfeeding policy with rooming-in, demand-feeding, and the elimination of bottles and breast milk substitutes. These practices have succeeded in programs around the world and have increased the breastfeeding rate at the same time that infection rates decreased.