Breastfeeding promotion
Encyclopedia
Health promotion
Health promotion has been defined by the World Health Organization's 2005 Bangkok Charter for Health Promotion in a Globalized World as "the process of enabling people to increase control over their health and its determinants, and thereby improve their health"...
among women, newborns and infants through breastfeeding
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding is the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk directly from female human breasts rather than from a baby bottle or other container. Babies have a sucking reflex that enables them to suck and swallow milk. It is recommended that mothers breastfeed for six months or...
.
The World Health Organization
World Health Organization
The World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
(WHO) recommends infants should be exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life to achieve optimal health and development, followed by complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years or beyond. However, currently fewer than 40% of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed worldwide. Public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
awareness events such as World Breastfeeding Week, as well as appropriate training of health professionals and effective planning, aim to increase this number by communicating the importance of protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding so that infants receive appropriate nutrition.
Australia
Australia implemented its first national breastfeeding policy in 2010, aimed at protecting, promoting, supporting and monitoring breastfeeding through each level of government and in non-government organisation.Canada
In Canada, the provinces of QuebecQuebec
Quebec or is a province in east-central Canada. It is the only Canadian province with a predominantly French-speaking population and the only one whose sole official language is French at the provincial level....
and New Brunswick
New Brunswick
New Brunswick is one of Canada's three Maritime provinces and is the only province in the federation that is constitutionally bilingual . The provincial capital is Fredericton and Saint John is the most populous city. Greater Moncton is the largest Census Metropolitan Area...
have mandated the implementation of the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative
The Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative , also known as “Baby Friendly Initiative” , is a worldwide programme of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, launched in 1991 following the adoption of the Innocenti Declaration on breastfeeding promotion in 1990...
(BFI), designed to support best practices in hospitals and communities to ensure informed feeding decisions and enable families to sustain breastfeeding. Other provinces and territories are implementing strategies around the BFI at regional and local levels.
Russia
In Russia, the Association of Natural Feeding Consultants (AKEV) promotes breastfeeding. AKEV provides mother-to-mother support, educates breastfeeding consultants as well as participates in public outreach about breastfeeding importance. AKEV is a regional group of the International Baby Food Action NetworkInternational Baby Food Action Network
The International Baby Food Action Network, IBFAN, consists of public interest groups working around the world to reduce infant and young child morbidity and mortality. IBFAN aims to improve the health and well-being of babies and young children, their mothers and their families through the...
in Russia.
Uganda
In Uganda, campaigns to promote breastfeeding have been conducted in the mass mediaMass media
Mass media refers collectively to all media technologies which are intended to reach a large audience via mass communication. Broadcast media transmit their information electronically and comprise of television, film and radio, movies, CDs, DVDs and some other gadgets like cameras or video consoles...
, including public service announcement
Public service announcement
A public service announcement or public service ad is a type of advertisement featured on television, radio, print or other media...
s via radio, television, posters, newspapers and magazines, leading to improved knowledge of the benefits of breastfeeding for infants and mothers among individuals and communities.
United States
In the United States, breastfeeding promotion relates to activities required to be carried out by state and local agencies using federal fundsFederal funds
In the United States, federal funds are overnight borrowings by banks to maintain their bank reserves at the Federal Reserve. Banks keep reserves at Federal Reserve Banks to meet their reserve requirements and to clear financial transactions...
provided for nutrition
Nutrition
Nutrition is the provision, to cells and organisms, of the materials necessary to support life. Many common health problems can be prevented or alleviated with a healthy diet....
education and administrative services under the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children
The Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children is a Federal assistance program of the Food and Nutrition Service of the United States Department of Agriculture for healthcare and nutrition of low-income pregnant women, breastfeeding women, and infants and children...
(WIC program). States are required to use a portion of funds they receive to promote breastfeeding by postpartum mothers participating in the program.
La Leche League is the oldest organization in the world with sole purpose of promotion and support breastfeeding. Founded in Illinois in 1956, the organization is now found around the world.
See also
- Baby Friendly Hospital InitiativeBaby Friendly Hospital InitiativeThe Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative , also known as “Baby Friendly Initiative” , is a worldwide programme of the World Health Organization and UNICEF, launched in 1991 following the adoption of the Innocenti Declaration on breastfeeding promotion in 1990...
- International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk SubstitutesInternational Code of Marketing of Breast-milk SubstitutesThe International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes is an international health policy framework for breastfeeding promotion adopted by the World Health Assembly of the World Health Organization in 1981...
- Public healthPublic healthPublic health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
- World Alliance for Breastfeeding ActionWorld Alliance for Breastfeeding ActionThe World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action is a network of people working on a global scale to eliminate obstacles to breastfeeding and to act on the Innocenti Declaration...
Further reading
- UNICEF/WHO. Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding. Adopted at the WHO/UNICEF meeting on "Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative", held at the Spedale degli Innocenti, Florence, Italy, 30 July-1 August 1990.
External links
- Geneva Foundation for Medical Education and Research: Breastfeeding promotion. (articles and guidelines from different countries/organizations in multiple languages)
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Breastfeeding Promotion & Support
- Ontario Public Health Association: Breastfeeding Promotion