PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – The Trinidad-based Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) is reiterating a call for regional countries to take a whole of society approach to support breastfeeding, implement and reinforce the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes and the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.
(File Photo)“By protecting and supporting breastfeeding, we are also protecting human rights and taking important steps towards achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), leaving no one behind in the post pandemic world,” CARPHA said in a statement in observance of World Breastfeeding Week, which ends on Wednesday.
It said breastfeeding has long been recognised as an important contributor to child nutrition, health and survival and as such needs to be protected, promoted and supported throughout the region and worldwide.
CARPHA said breastfeeding reduces the risk of malnutrition – under and over nutrition – and non-communicable diseases (NCDs) for both the mother and the child.
It said that infants that are breastfed longer, have a 13 per cent lower risk of overweight and obesity and 35 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes. Women who breastfeed have reduced risks of postpartum overweight and obesity, 32 per cent lower risk of type 2 diabetes, 37 per cent lower risk of ovarian cancer and 26 per cent lower risk of breast cancer.
CARPHA said non-breastfed infants are at increased risk of malnutrition, diarrhoeal and acute respiratory tract infections and even death.
World Breastfeeding Week is being observed under the theme “Closing the Gap, Breastfeeding Support for All,” and CARPHA’s interim executive director, Dr. Lisa Indar said a challenge to breastfeeding remains the level of support that mothers receive, whether it be at home, within their communities and/or at work.
“This year, World Breastfeeding Week will focus on the need to improve breastfeeding support at all levels, thereby reducing any inequalities that exist in our societies, with a special focus on breastfeeding in times of emergencies and crises.”
CARPHA said that breastfeeding is more important than ever during emergencies whether they are natural, man-made, or public health. Breastmilk supplies infants with a balanced and protective food to guard against infections which are even more common during emergencies and crises.
“Breastfeeding during emergencies can be especially challenging for mothers, having to cope with displacement from their homes, food insecurity, limited access to clean water and/or disruption to basic health and child-care services.
“To support mothers during these times, we need to make the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding a standard response in emergency and non-emergency situations. This response will ensure that the rights, health and well-being of mothers and their children are not infringed upon,” said Dr Heather Armstrong, the head of Chronic Disease and Injury at CARPHA.
CARPHA said that breastfeeding mothers need support from the whole of society.
“There is a need for government and policymakers to enact laws and policies for all public spaces, including workplaces, to become breastfeeding-friendly by providing maternity and paternity leave as well as designated places for breastfeeding and expressing and storing breastmilk.”
It said to protect, promote and support breastfeeding, CARPHA will continue to work with its member states to implement comprehensive national policies on infant and young child feeding, including guidelines on ensuring appropriate feeding of infants and young children in emergencies and crises.
