World Breastfeeding Week - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration which is being held every year from the 1st to 7th of August in more than 120 countries. According to the August 26th data of WBW website, 540 events have been held worldwide by more than 79 countries with 488 organizations and 406,620 participants for the World Breastfeeding Week 2010. See WBW pledges for the complete list.

Being organized by WABA

World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action

The 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...

, WHO

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...

and UNICEF, WBW came up with the goal to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life which yields tremendous health benefits, providing critical nutrient

Nutrient

A nutrient is a chemical that an organism needs to live and grow or a substance used in an organism's metabolism which must be taken in from its environment. They are used to build and repair tissues, regulate body processes and are converted to and used as energy...

s, protection from deadly disease

Disease

A disease is an abnormal condition affecting the body of an organism. It is often construed to be a medical condition associated with specific symptoms and signs. It may be caused by external factors, such as infectious disease, or it may be caused by internal dysfunctions, such as autoimmune...

s such as pneumonia

Pneumonia

Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung—especially affecting the microscopic air sacs —associated with fever, chest symptoms, and a lack of air space on a chest X-ray. Pneumonia is typically caused by an infection but there are a number of other causes...

and fostering growth and development for the first time in 1991.

History

World Breastfeeding Week was first celebrated in 1992 by World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action

World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action

The 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...

(WABA) and is now observed in over 120 countries by UNICEF, WHO

World Health Organization

and their partners including individuals, organizations, and governments. WABA itself have been formed in 14 February 1991 with the goal to re-establish a global breastfeeding culture and provide support for 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...

everywhere.

The World Health Organization

World Health Organization

(WHO) and the American Academy of Pediatrics

American Academy of Pediatrics

The American Academy of Pediatrics is the major professional association of pediatricians in the United States. The AAP was founded in 1930 by 35 pediatricians to address pediatric healthcare standards. It currently has 60,000 members in primary care and sub-specialist areas...

(AAP) emphasize the value of breastfeeding for mothers as well as children. Both recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and then supplemented breastfeeding for at least one year and up to two years or more. WBW commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF in August 1990 to protect and support breastfeeding.

History

See also