‘Empower Parents. Enable Breastfeeding’
To improve the health of babies and encourage
breastfeeding all over the world, World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every
year from 1 to 7 August. It marks the Innocenti Declaration signed in Aug 1990
by the government, UNICEF & WHO to promote and support breastfeeding. Every year a theme is decided for this day and
the theme of the World Breastfeeding Day this year is ‘Enable Parents. Empower Breastfeeding.’
Various events are organized all over the world on this day and this is
exhibited by many countries worldwide.
The aim of World Breastfeeding Day is to promote the role
that breastfeeding has on the well-being of babies. Through breastfeeding, babies
get all the vital nutrients that will guard them against lethal diseases and
health problem and is considered extremely essential for the first six months.
This year, UNICEF & WHO is working in coordination
with partners to promote the importance of friendly-family policies to
encourage breastfeeding and nurture the mother-baby bondage. This is going to
include the enactment of paid maternity leave for a minimum 18 weeks and also
paid paternity leave because this will be encouraging the shared responsibility
of parents on an equal basis in upbringing their child. Not only that but to
support and protect their ability to breastfeeding, mothers need to have access
to a parent-friendly workplace; a private, safe and hygienic space to store
breast milk and afford childcare.
Breastfeeding increases child well-being and promotes
better health for mothers. Studies prove that increasing breastfeeding could
save more than 8,00,000 lives each year and the majority amongst them are
children. It’s healthy for mothers because it reduces the risk of breast
cancer, ovarian cancer, and heart disease. Breastfeeding can cut down near
about 20,000 maternal deaths that are caused due to breast cancer each year.
World Breastfeeding Day aims for the following:
1.
Help
increasing awareness of peer groups to support mothers in establishing &
carrying breastfeeding.
2.
To
increase awareness of people to attend and expand Counseling programs by
informing them about the benefits of these sessions.
3.
Help
in calling on the Government to get more maternity facilities worldwide
4.
To
increase the duration and rate of breastfeeding
5.
To
discover contacts of various neighboring support so that mothers who breastfeed
can go to them after delivery and on their times of need
It is recommended by WHO to provide breastfeeding within
one hour of child delivery until the time babies are 6 months old. Thereafter,
all the nutritious complementary foods should be given along with breastfeeding
until 2 years and beyond.
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