The New WHO Recommendations on HIV and Infant Feeding--Care for the Mother, And in Resource--Limited Settings Let Breastmilk Care for the Baby (Hot Topics) (Report‪)‬

Until 2009 the role of breastmilk in feeding HIV-exposed infants was fraught with international and national controversy. The general benefits of breastmilk and breastfeeding were differentially weighted against the risk of HIV transmission through breastmilk, and this splintered HIV and child health policy makers, implementers and activists. Ramdhial and Coovadia summarise the seven Key Recommendations in Infant Feeding in the new World Health Organization guidelines and highlight the training implications of these guidelines. (1) This paper discusses recent research findings that led to the development of these new guidelines and the implications of the guidelines for HIV-positive mothers, their infants and the South African prevention of mother-to-child transmission (PMTCT) programme. Recent research findings