The World Health Organization recognizes breastfeeding as one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. In fact, as UNICEF puts it, breastfeeding in emergencies saves lives. True enough, in emergencies such as this COVID-19 pandemic, infants and young children are at a greater risk of being undernourished as more families get hungry because they have little or no money to buy food. But if mothers breastfeed, their infants will not get hungry.  They have a safe, nutritious, and readily available food source – their mother’s breastmilk.

With this in mind, Marikina City’s modern-day nutrition heroes - the nutritionist-dietitians and Barangay Nutrition Scholars, work doubly hard to ensure that mothers with children below 2 years old practice breastfeeding.  Despite the threat of COVID-19, they visit mothers at home to counsel and motivate them to continue breastfeeding and help them breastfeed successfully.  They give free lactation massage to mothers who have poor breastmilk production and even help mothers relactate or start breastfeeding again. They also give pregnant and post-partum mothers one-on-one counseling on breastfeeding when they visit the health centers.

Breastfeeding support groups (BFSGs), such as those from Barangay Fortune and Barangay Nangka, were mobilized in monitoring Milk Code violations and if the “No Milk Donation” policy is being strictly enforced amid COVID-19. These BFSGs also give breastfeeding lectures to mothers who visit the health center while observing physical distancing and minimum health standards for COVID-19.

Breastfeeding saves infants from hunger and malnutrition. Let us continue to help mothers breastfeed their babies especially during this COVID-19 crisis. (RGRG/NPC MEVF/NNC-NCR)