World Breastfeeding Week, marked annually in the first week of August, aims to promote the enabling environments that help women to breastfeed, as well as sharing information on breastfeeding benefits and strategies.
In 2018, a World Health Assembly resolution endorsed World Breastfeeding Week as an important health promotion strategy, and it is supported each year by WHO, UNICEF, and governmental and civil society partners. The theme this year is “Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all.”
WHO recommends that all newborns, including low birth-weight babies who are able to breastfeed, should be put to the breast as soon as possible after birth, once they are clinically stable and both the mother and baby are ready.
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses. It provides all the energy and nutrients that an infant needs for the first months of life, and it continues to provide up to half or more of a child’s nutritional needs during the second half of the first year, and up to one third during the second year of life.
Breast milk shares antibodies from the mother with her baby, helping babies develop stronger immune systems and protecting them from illnesses. It can help protect babies against some short- and long-term illnesses and diseases. Breastfed babies perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to develop asthma, obesity, and type 2 diabetes. Breastfed babies are also less likely to have ear infections and diarrhoea.[1]
The benefits of breastfeeding extend to mothers also. Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and type 2 diabetes. Though many women intend to breastfeed, they sometimes initially struggle due to lack of confidence, problems with latching or the milk supply and poor experiences. It is important to remember that breastfeeding is not necessarily a natural instinct and action for many women, and can be emotionally taxing. Thus, the support given by family, community and the health system assumes great importance.
Early initiation of breastfeeding, and exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life, prevents approximately 20% newborn deaths and 13% under-five deaths globally, contributing to achievement of the SDG Target 3.2. Initiating breastfeeding soon after birth needs early groundwork, provided by the preparation of a mother during the ante natal care period, as well as technical and psychosocial care given to mothers during the immediate post natal period. A significant component of the support provided to pregnant mothers and their families comes through the health system, backstopped by strong legislative policies that provide safe and enabling environments, including at workplaces and public spaces.
Breastfeeding has been a critical component to infant development in our WHO South-East Asia Region, with wide-ranging cultural acceptance. We should rightfully be proud that nearly 60 % of infants in WHO South-East Asia Region exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life - compared to 48 % globally.
Our Region has chosen to focus on health system and worker support for breastfeeding mothers during the 2024 breastfeeding week and beyond. The health system provides counseling and advice to mothers during pregnancy on how to prepare for breastfeeding, providing encouragement and technical assistance soon after birth, and follow-up support after discharge from the facility. The degree of success is variable, and reflected by the rates for early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour, which vary from 29 % to 90 % across our Member States.
Opportunities for action lie within health system programmes and health facilities, where the majority of births take place. Some of the barriers to be addressed include the lack of national standards on breastfeeding within facilities, leading to separation of babies from mothers - particularly in caesarean section births; inadequately trained health staff to impart the skills of breastfeeding; unnecessary use of infant formula due to the commercial influence of the baby food industry; and inadequate counselling and support to mothers during antenatal and postnatal periods. Often neglected is the counseling assistance to help mothers who haven’t been able to meet their breastfeeding goals who must also be considered.
Facility based support measures for breastfeeding are most effective when integrated with other healthcare improvement initiatives, health systems strengthening, and quality assurance programmes. This requires coordination between the relevant health ministry departments, capacity development of the staff providing ante natal care, those attending the birth to facilitate immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby and support mothers in initiating breastfeeding as soon as possible after birth. Mothers with breastfeeding issues must be provided support by trained lactation counselors. Countries that have not yet done so need to invest more resources to ensure that breastfeeding support become the standard of care for all maternity and neonatal care facilities and for all babies.
To scale up breastfeeding in maternity and newborn services, WHO regional and country offices provide strategic guidance to countries to consider the following actions:
- Review current practices on facility-based breastfeeding support, and identify gaps in both government and private sector facilities, and rectify based on country context
- Enhance the capacity of health professionals to implement globally recommended practices and procedures (i.e. the Ten Steps) for the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding
- Incorporate facility-based breastfeeding support indictors into national standards of care
- Strengthen the enforcement of national policies that support breastfeeding, including the Code of Marketing of Breast Milk Substitutes, maternity protection laws, and regulations for healthcare facilities
By focusing on these elements, national programs can effectively scale up breastfeeding support in maternity and newborn service facilities. This will help achieve universal coverage of breastfeeding support and will improve maternal and child health outcomes while contributing to long-term public health benefits.
On World Breastfeeding Week 2024, lets us all commit to closing the gap, and ensuring breastfeeding support for all.