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Mag-breastfeeding TSEK para nutrisyon ni Baby ay TSEK

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Category: Region NCR

Breastfeeding Article SMCBreastfeeding is the gold standard in infant feeding. All mothers are encouraged to practice breastfeeding TSEK to ensure that the baby gets the proper nutrition during the first 1000 days which is the critical period of growth and development.

Breastfeeding TSEK means:

  • “Tama” - immediate skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby after birth, and initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of life.
  • “Sapat” – the mother need not worry if she is not producing much milk during the first few days after the child’s birth. Little breastmilk is enough for the first week and frequent breastfeeding ensures continuous breastmilk supply to respond to the increasing needs of the baby.
  • “EKsklusibo” - giving only breastmilk and no other liquid to the baby for the first six months. Breastmilk has all the water and nutrients that the baby needs for the first six (6) months after which the baby should be given appropriate complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding.

Why is breastfeeding important? Breastmilk is the ideal food for babies. Breastmilk is rich in nutrients to promote normal growth and development.  It contains antibodies that protects the child from infections such as serious colds, ear, and throat infections, gastrointestinal and viral infections. Babies who were not breastfed in their first 6 months of life are 25 times more likely to die than those who experienced exclusive breastfeeding from the time they were born. Breastfeeding also prevents obesity as it helps the baby to control the amount of milk consumed and their appetite from a very early stage.  Thus, breastfed babies have healthy weight gain.

Breastfeeding is important for the optimal health and development of the baby.  Breastmilk not only provides essential nutrients need for the development of the baby, but also helps mother and baby to bond for life.

However, despite the known benefits of breastfeeding, many mothers still do not breastfeed. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), only about 44% of infants aged 0-6 months worldwide were exclusively breastfed from 2015 to 2020, and nearly two out of three infants are not exclusively breastfed.  Sadly, this rate has not improved in two (2) decades. The 2019 Expanded National Nutrition Survey (ENNS) revealed that although early breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding were common feeding practices, the rate of breastfeeding exclusively until 5.9 months was low at 35.9%, with an average of 4.4 months of breastfeeding duration.  The sub-optimal breastfeeding practices put the infants at risk to malnutrition. It is during the first 1000 days of life when growth faltering happens. Failure to breastfeed infants at this critical time may result to the irreversible effects of undernutrition such as stunting.

Breastfeeding is a public health intervention to prevent illnesses and all forms of malnutrition – especially stunting. Breastfeeding may be natural, but it is a learned act and the battleground to sustain breastfeeding is through a supportive environment found in households and community peer groups like breastfeeding support groups. 

Realizing the need to help promote, protect, and support breastfeeding especially during the pandemic, the National Nutrition Council-National Capital Region (NNC-NCR) mobilized the members of the Association of City/District Nutrition Program Coordinators of Metro Manila to provide free online counseling to mothers to help them in their concerns on infant and young child feeding or IYCF. The online IYCF counseling started on April 8, 2020 and is still being offered free by the NCR BFFs or Breastfeeding Friends who are nutritionist-dietitians trained on IYCF.

And to emphasize the importance of breastfeeding as a highly beneficial public health intervention for mothers and children on the First 1000 days, the Department of Health (DOH) leads the celebration of the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month this August 2021 with the theme, “Tulong-Tulong sa Pagpapasuso sa First 1000 Days!". Protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding is a shared responsibility of the family, community, government, and other members of society.  It requires a whole of society approach to improve the breastfeeding practices of mothers.

Mothers need to practice breastfeeding TSEK (Tama, Sapat, at Eksklusibo) to ensure that infants receive the best nutrition for optimum growth, health, and development particularly during the first 1000 days. 

Need advice on breastfeeding and complementary feeding? Click this link to learn more about the NCR BFFs’ free online IYCF counseling: https://nnc.gov.ph/regional-offices/luzon/national-capital-region/3750-ncr-bffs-provide-online-iycf-counseling-to-mothers?fbclid=IwAR1xx81Y9fFrZCbm0vGoQOlxCoPH9hzvgThS_uIziig0eF56masHIbPaM3U

Written by:

Nutrition Officer I Jessica Ross P. Fernandez and
Nutrition Program Coordinator Milagros Elisa V. Federizo

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