Step up for breastfeeding: Educate and support
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. However, nearly 2 out of 3 infants are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended 6 months—a rate that has not improved in 2 decades.
Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. Breastfed children are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life. Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers.
WHO and UNICEF recommend that children initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth and are working to increase the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months up to at least 50% by 2025.
This World Breastfeeding Week, under its theme Step up for breastfeeding: Educate and support, WHO and UNICEF are calling on governments to allocate increased resources to protect, promote and support breastfeeding policies and programmes, especially for the most vulnerable families living in emergency settings.
WHO and UNICEF created the Global Breastfeeding Collective to rally political, legal, financial, and public support for breastfeeding. The Collective brings together implementers and donors from governments, philanthropies, international organizations, and civil society.
WHO’s Network for Global Monitoring and Support for Implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, also known as NetCode, works to ensure that breast-milk substitutes are not marketed inappropriately.
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#WorldBreastfeedingWeek starts today!
If everyone strives to step up for #breastfeeding, it will become much easier!
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Five breastfeeding facts for mothers
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5 #breastfeeding facts for mothers:
- Your body is ready to breastfeed from the moment your baby is born.
- Lowers stress and anxiety.
- Breastfeeding sets up a baby's immune system for life.
- Breastfeeding fights infections.
- The more you breastfeed in the early days, the faster your body makes milk.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Make breastfeeding work
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Many women do not breast feed for as long as they would like.
Here’s how we can ALL step up for #breastfeeding mothers anytime, anywhere.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Breastfeeding is still important after your baby turns one
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#Breastfeeding is still important after you baby turns 1:
- Breastmilk continues to to provide important nutrients
- Babies who are breastfeed into the second year and beyond are less likely to become overweight.
- Breastfeeding helps a baby build a stronger immune system.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
The 10 steps to successful breastfeeding
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#Breastfeeding defends infants against malnutrition. It acts as a first vaccine to protect infants against common illness and reduces risk of diabetes, obesity & some forms of cancer.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Practical tips for breastfeeding
When should I breastfeed and for how long?
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Breast milk is the ideal first food for a baby. It's safe, clean and contains antibodies that help protect your baby against illnesses.
- Start breastfeeding straight after birth.
- Breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months.
- Continue until the baby is 2+ years old.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Breastfeeding should not be painful
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#Breastfeeding should not be painful. If it hurts, a trained counsellor can help you breastfeed comfortably.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Is my baby getting enough milk?
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Q: Is my baby getting enough milk?
A: If your baby seems full and relaxed after #breastfeeding and is growing well, you can be confident that they are getting milk
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Your baby will tell you they are hungry
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Your baby tells you they are hungry by:
Bobbing their head; turning and opening their mouth.
Wriggling/clenching fists.
Putting their hands near their face or chewing fingers.
Licking their lips, opening and closing their mouth, making suckling noises.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #Breastfeeding
Social cards and suggested tweets | Kangaroo mother care
Kangaroo mother care improves survival for preterm and small babies
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Kangaroo mother care - holding babies skin-to-skin and exclusively #breastfeeding - dramatically improves survival for preterm and small babies.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Benefit of skin-to-skin contact and exclusive breastfeeding
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Holding a baby skin-to-skin and only breastfeeding meets their needs for:
- warmth
- nutrition
- stimulation
- protection from disease
- love
while also helping them develop.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Kangaroo mother care saves babies’ lives
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Kangaroo mother care saves babies’ lives. It also:
- protects against infections
- prevents hypothermia
- makes #breastfeeding easier
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Partners and other family members can do kangaroo care for babies
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Partners and other family members can also do kangaroo care for babies born early or small when mothers are unwell, in recovery or need a short break.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Breastfeeding counselling
Who can help you with breastfeeding
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Mothers need regular #breastfeeding counselling until their babies are 2 years old.
Training in breastfeeding counselling helps health workers to listen to, empower and support women.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Breastfeeding counselling helps you solve problems
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Is my baby latching properly?"
"Has my milk dried up?"
"Is it safe to take my medication?"
#Breastfeeding counselling can provide reassurance, build confidence and help solve problems.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | 10 steps for hospitals to support successful breastfeeding
Step 1: Hospital policies
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Hospitals can support mothers with #breastfeeding by not promoting infant formula, bottles or teats.
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Step 2: Staff competency
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To improve #breastfeeding rates around the world, train #HealthWorkers to support mothers and assess their #breastfeeding knowledge and skills.
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Step 3: Antenatal health
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#HealthWorkers can play a key role in supporting mothers to breastfeed.
- Tell women why #breastfeeding is important.
- Prepare women on how to feed their baby.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Step 4: Care right after birth
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#HealthWorkers can support mothers to breastfeed by:
- Helping them with #breastfeeding right away.
- Placing the baby skin-to-skin with their mother right after birth.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Step 5: Support mothers
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Hospitals can support mothers to breastfeed by learning how to help them with common #breastfeeding problems.
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Step 6: Supplementing
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Hospitals can support mothers to breastfeed by:
- giving only breastmilk unless there are medical reasons.
- making donor human milk available if needed.
- showing mothers who need to use formula how to do it safely.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Step 7: Rooming-in
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Hospitals can support mothers to breastfeed by:
- letting mothers and babies stay together day and night.
- making sure that mothers of sick babies can stay near their babies.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Step 8: Responsive feeding
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Hospitals can support mothers to breastfeed by helping them to see when their baby is hungry and to breastfeed as often as the baby needs.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Step 9: Bottles, teats and pacifiers
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Hospitals can support mothers to breastfeed by counselling them on the use and risks of feeding bottles, teats, and pacifiers.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Step 10: Discharge
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Hospitals can support mothers to #breastfeed by referring them to community resources for breastfeeding support and working with the communities to improve breastfeeding services.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Breastfeeding support
When you go home
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While #breastfeeding is natural, it can take time to learn and it really helps to get ongoing support from health workers or peer counsellors.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
What dads can do
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Time off work is also important for fathers. Paid paternity leave helps fathers bond with their babies and take on an equal share of the care burden.
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What can be done in the workplace
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Employers are encouraged to work with governments to support #breastfeeding employees to breastfeed by offering at least 18 weeks of paid maternity leave, preferably six months; plus paid paternity leave.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Support mothers anytime and anywhere
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Babies have tiny tummies and need to be breastfeed very often. You can help mothers feel comfortable breastfeeding their babies whenever and wherever they get hungry.
We can all help create #breastfeeding-friendly communities.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Breastfeeding and work
What employers can do?
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Workplace support makes breastfeeding possible.
Women should be able to continue #breastfeeding their babies when they return to work.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
What co-workers can do?
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#Breastfeeding mothers need encouragement and support from co-workers.
Help them arrange their duties around #breastfeeding breaks.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Impact of breastfeeding
Scaling up breastfeeding
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#Breastfeeding improves IQ, school attendance, and is associated with higher income in adult life.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek
Social cards and suggested tweets | Unethical marketing of formula milk
Don't let formula milk companies influence your decision about what to feed your baby
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Formula milk industry marketing techniques including:
unregulated and invasive online targeting.
sponsored advice networks and helplines.
promotions and free gifts.
practices to influence training and recommendations from health workers.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
Formula milk companies spend billions each year on marketing
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Globally, only 44% of babies, less than 6 months old, are exclusively breastfed.
Global #breastfeeding rates have increased very little in the past two decades, while the sale of formula milk has more than doubled in roughly the same time.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
Parents want what's best for their babies
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Exposure to formula milk marketing - which increases parents’ and mothers’ likelihood of choosing formula feeding - reaches:
84% of all women surveyed in the #UnitedKingdom.
92% of women surveyed in #VietNam.
97% of women surveyed in #China.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
The formula milk industry wants what's best for its bottom line
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Most pregnant women surveyed expressed a strong desire to breastfeed exclusively.
However, a sustained flow of misleading marketing messages reinforces myths about #breastfeeding and breast milk, undermining women’s confidence in their ability to breastfeed successfully.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
Formula milk marketing targets everyone
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More than 1 in 3 women surveyed - said a health worker - had been recommended a brand of formula milk.
Health workers in all countries had been approached by the industry to influence their recommendations to new mothers
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
Announcing your pregnancy?
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Formula milk companies buy your data and use your internet search history to learn more about you. By the time you find out you are pregnant, you’re already a target of their marketing campaigns
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
Biased advice when medical training is paid for by formula companies
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Parents can get biased advice on #breastfeeding when medical training is paid for by formula companies.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
Free samples and subtle advertizing in hospitals undermine breastfeeding
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Free samples and subtle advertising in hospitals and doctors’ clinics can make mothers doubt #breastfeeding.
#WorldBreastfeedingWeek #EndExploitativeMarketing
