Every month of August, National Breastfeeding Awareness Month is celebrated, and for this year's theme, "Sama-samang Itaguyod, Tamang Kaalaman at Kalinga sa Pagpapasuso."
In accordance with Republic Act 10028, or otherwise known as the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009, signed by the 10th President of the Philippines, Gloria Macapagal Arroyo on March 16, 2010. The policy aims to encourage the government, the health sector, and the general public to support exclusive breastfeeding and raise public awareness of the importance and benefits of breastfeeding for both the infant and the mother.
According to UNICEF (2018), breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival. Breastmilk is an ideal source of food that provides all the energy and nutrients needed by infants, wherein it should be initiated during the first hour of birth up until 6 months exclusively and continued up to 2 years and above with safe and appropriate complementary foods.
In addition, breastmilk contains antibodies that protect the child against early diseases, specifically during their first 1000 days of life (Camacho-Morales et al., 2021) and a defense for childhood malnutrition. Breastfeeding promotes adequate growth and optimal brain development, which has been linked to higher intelligence later in life (Belfort, 2017) and a lower risk of childhood obesity when breastfed for more than 7 months (Qiao et al., 2020).
Nevertheless, breastfeeding does benefit not only the child but also the mother. Breastfeeding enhances mothers’ health by reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure (CDC, 2021). Aside from that, research shows that exclusive breastfeeding mothers have a higher chance of returning to pre-pregnancy weight than non-exclusive breastfeeding mothers (Jarlenski et al., 2014) due to increased energy needs and fat mobilization to build and maintain milk supply (Lambrinou et al., 2019 & Cleaveland Clinic, 2018), but also with a healthy and balanced diet.
A simple guide produced by the National Nutrition Council Ten Kumainments encourages mothers to breastfeed infants exclusively from birth up to 6 months, then give appropriate complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond for optimum growth and development.
For this month’s celebration, it is therefore important that we, together with the government, private sectors, and the public, stand and continue to support, empower, and enable mothers to breastfeed. Also, increase awareness of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and invest in the first 1000 days in the community as our weapon for healthier, smarter, and more productive Philippines in the future. #ReinRolandJ.Gabaisen&NASLabordo
References:
Brown Belfort M. (2017). The Science of Breastfeeding and Brain Development. Breastfeeding medicine : the official journal of the Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine, 12(8), 459–461. https://doi.org/10.1089/bfm.2017.0122
Camacho-Morales, A., Caba, M., García-Juárez, M., Caba-Flores, M. D., Viveros-Contreras, R., & Martínez-Valenzuela, C. (2021). Breastfeeding Contributes to Physiological Immune Programming in the Newborn. Frontiers in pediatrics, 9, 744104. https://doi.org/10.3389/fped.2021.744104
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (2021). Breastfeeding Benefits Both Baby and Mom. https://www.cdc.gov/nccdphp/dnpao/features/breastfeeding-benefits/index.html
Cleveland Clinic (2018). The Benefits of Breastfeeding for Baby & for Mom. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/15274-the-benefits-of-breastfeeding-for-baby--for-mom
Jarlenski, M. P., Bennett, W. L., Bleich, S. N., Barry, C. L., & Stuart, E. A. (2014). Effects of breastfeeding on postpartum weight loss among U.S. women. Preventive medicine, 69, 146–150. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ypmed.2014.09.018
Lambrinou, C.-P., Karaglani, E., & Manios, Y. (2019). Breastfeeding and postpartum weight loss. Current Opinion in Clinical Nutrition and Metabolic Care, 22(6), 413–417. doi:10.1097/mco.0000000000000597
Qiao, J., Dai, L. J., Zhang, Q., & Ouyang, Y. Q. (2020). A Meta-Analysis of the Association Between Breastfeeding and Early Childhood Obesity. Journal of pediatric nursing, 53, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pedn.2020.04.024
Republic Act No. 10028 (2010). Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2010/03/16/republic-act-no-10028/
United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). (2018). Breastfeeding A Mothers Gift for Every Child.https://www.unicef.org/media/48046/file/UNICEF_Breastfeeding_A_Mothers_Gift_for_Every_Child.pdf
