Written by World Alliance for Breasfeeding Action (WABA)
Saturday, 31 July 2010
The Official Theme for 2010:
Just 10 Steps: The Baby-Friendly Way
Click the image to download a PDF poster.
WBW 2010 Objectives
Join the World in Breastfeeding Action this year!
Draw attention to the role of the Ten Steps in improving breastfeeding rates.
Renew action by health systems, health care providers and communities to make breastfeeding the easy choice for women.
Inform people everywhere of the risks of artificial feeding, and the role of breastfeeding for children's development and lifelong health and the health of mothers.
Enable mothers to enjoy full support for breastfeeding in health care systems and beyond.
WBW 2010 Rationale
Health care facilities play a vital role in the establishment of breastfeeding.
The Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding provide a supportive pathway enabling women to achieve their breastfeeding intentions and guiding the training of healthcare workers in breastfeeding support.
World Breastfeeding Week this year commemorates the 20th anniversary of the Innocenti Declaration that called for implementation of the Ten Steps in all maternity facilities.
During these 20 years, more than 20,000 maternities, or about 28% of all maternities in the world, have fully implemented the Ten Steps and have been certified by the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI).
During this time, rates of exclusive breastfeeding have increased significantly.
However, reduced BFHI programming worldwide, inadequate training, and weakened compliance with the Ten Steps in accredited maternities are contributing to stagnant or declining exclusive breastfeeding rates in many settings.
It is time to revisit this approach and to determine where we must go from here.
The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is the greatest outreach vehicle for the breastfeeding movement, being celebrated in over 120 countries. Officially, it is celebrated from 1-7 August.
Written by TenSteps.org / World Alliance for Breasfeeding Action (WABA)
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Why it is important to share and act on this information
Babies who are breastfed are generally healthier and achieve optimal growth and development compared to those who are fed formula milk.
If the vast majority of babies were exclusively fed breastmilk in their first six months of life – meaning only breastmilk and no other liquids or solids, not even water – it is estimated that the lives of at least 1.2 million children would be saved every year. If children continue to be breastfed up to two years and beyond, the health and development of millions of children would be greatly improved.
Infants who are not breastfed are at an increased risk of illness that can compromise their growth and raise the risk of death or disability. Breastfed babies receive protection from illnesses through the mother's milk.
Breastfeeding is the natural and recommended way of feeding all infants, even when artificial feeding is affordable, clean water is available, and good hygienic conditions for preparing and feeding infant formula exist.
If a mother is HIV-positive, there is a risk that she can transmit HIV to her baby through breastfeeding. Counselling can help her carefully weigh the risks and make an informed decision on which feeding option is best for her baby and most manageable for her.
Almost every mother can breastfeed successfully. All mothers, particularly those who might lack the confidence to breastfeed, need the encouragement and practical support of the baby's father and their families, friends and relatives. Health workers, community workers, women's organizations and employers can also provide support.
Everyone has the right to information about the benefits of breastfeeding and the risks of artificial feeding. Governments have a responsibility to provide this information. Communities as well as media and other channels of communication can play a key role in promoting breastfeeding.
Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:
Pan American Health Organization's Letter of Support
Written by Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
Saturday, 31 July 2010
Below we present the official letter of support from Pan American Health Organization for World Breastfeeding Week 2010.
Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)
According to the Pan American Health Organization Website:
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August and offers a wonderful opportunity to renew and invigorate global commitment to breastfeeding. The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2010 is "Just 10 Steps! The Baby-Friendly Way". The 10 Steps were developed by WHO/UNICEF and first published in 1989 as the Joint Statement on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding: The Special Role of the Maternity Services. The Innocenti Declaration in 1990 called upon the world to fully implement the 10 Steps in all maternities by 1995. In 2003 the WHO Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding reaffirmed this important goal.
Breastfeeding gives children the best start in life. It is estimated that over one million children die each year from diarrhoea, respiratory and other infections because they are not adequately breastfed. Many more children suffer from unnecessary illnesses that they would not have if they were breastfed. Breastfeeding also helps to protect mothers' health.
The World Health Organization and UNICEF recommend exclusive breastfeeding from birth for the first 4-6 months of life, and sustained breastfeeding together with adequate complementary foods up to 2 years of age or beyond.
Below we present the official letter of support from World Health Organization (WHO) for World Breastfeeding Week 2009.
World Health Organization (WHO)
According to the WHO:
Breastfeeding is the ideal way of providing young infants with the nutrients they need for healthy growth and development. Virtually all mothers can breastfeed, provided they have accurate information, and the support of their family and the health care system. Colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, is recommended by WHO as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to 6 months of age.
The World Health Organization recommends that infants start breastfeeding within one hour of life, are exclusively breastfed for six months, with timely initiation of adequate, safe and properly fed complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding for up to two years of age or beyond.
The first week of August has been designated World Breastfeeding Week since 1992. This year’s theme celebrates the 20th anniversary of the “Innocenti Declaration.” The conference that produced the declaration took place in Florence, Italy, 1990. The purpose of the conference was to encourage and support every nation to implement strategies to promote breastfeeding. It recognized that providing human milk to a human baby is the ideal situation for the growth and development of the human baby.
The promotion of breastfeeding as the ideal way to feed a baby has also had the support of the United States Surgeon General, American Academy of Pediatrics, American College of Obstetricians and numerous other esteemed groups.
Mothers instinctually know that their milk is what is best for their baby, yet some are not able to do so because of conditions out of their control. For those mothers there is a grieving period that they could not do what they had hoped to do for their baby. They need our support even more than the mother who has no problems with feeding her baby.
There are mothers who from the beginning decide not to feed their baby with their milk. Sometimes it is because someone told them it would hurt, the perception that bottle feeding is easier, or that they do not know where and how to get support.
Babies who are breastfed are generally healthier and achieve optimal growth and development compared to those who are fed formula milk.
The first week of August has been designated World Breastfeeding Week since 1992. This year’s theme celebrates the 20th anniversary of the “