TEHRAN The World Day of Breastfeeding was commemorated here yesterday at Imam Khomeini Hospital with this year's theme being Breastfeeding the Best Investment. Appreciating the efforts made by responsible organizations, Iranian Minister of Health and Medical Education, Mohammad Farhadi stressed on breastfeeding as one of the most important means for providing healthy growth to infants. Breastfeeding in Iran have reduced the mortality rate normally caused by gastric diseases, respiratory diseases and malnutrition during the last seven years, he added. About 55.7 percent of Iranian infants have been merely breastfed for 6 months, continuation of breasting upto the age of one-year have been 85 percent and to the age of two years 50 percent, Deputy Minister of health, Ali Akbar Sayyari said. He continued that refusal of infants to be breastfed by their mothers, shortage of mothers milk, occupation of nursing mothers, using contraceptive pills and a new pregnancy are among the excuses for not breastfeeding; however he stressed that with proper programing in this field the mentioned factors can be restricted. Head of Iran Committee for Expansion of Breastfeeding, Ali Reza Marandi stressed on the need for having more healthy youths during the coming years for which the programing should be done today. Children who are breastfed are more intelligent, resistant to diseases and patient in behavior and they are less exposed to stress or depression, Marandi added. The one-day seminar continued with messages from WHO's representative in Iran and representative of UNFPA with emphasis on importance of nutrition through breastfeeding.