World Breastfeeding Week 2022: Step up for Breastfeeding
World Breastfeeding Week 2022 (WBW) kicks off globally from Monday, August 1 to 7 under the theme, ?Step up for Breastfeeding. Educate and Support.?
Section Youth Health Care which falls under the Collective Prevention Service (CPS) is observing WBW-2022 by hosting a number of activities.
The first activity was the organization of free Lactation Consultations as of May 12. The lactation consultation is also done in collaboration with Women?s Health Services N.V. The free lactation consultation is for moms in their second trimester and for moms with questions about breastfeeding.
The second activity was launched in June and is the 5th Annual Breastfeeding Photo Contest. Other activities include radio interviews, and a Mom to Mom Sip-n-Chat Session.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), globally, three in five babies are not breastfed in the first hour of life.
Over 820,000 children could be saved yearly if all children 0-23 months were optimally breastfed. Only 41 per cent of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed.
?Breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure child health and survival,? the WHO said. It further adds, ?Breastmilk is the ideal food for infants. It is safe, clean and contains antibodies which help protect against many common childhood illnesses.
?Breastmilk provides all the energy and nutrients that the 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.
?Breastfed children perform better on intelligence tests, are less likely to be overweight or obese and less prone to diabetes later in life. Women who breastfeed also have a reduced risk of breast and ovarian cancers,? the WHO concludes.
YHC reminds the public that this is the final week to participate in its 5th Annual Breastfeeding Photo Contest which runs until August 4, 2022.
To enter the contest, you can send an email to youthhealthcare@sintmaartengov.org; you must include your name, telephone number, a description of the photo and why you chose to breastfeed; and one image of you and your baby breastfeeding.
The rules for participating in the contest are photographs must not be older than two years; pictures must be submitted by the mother or partner; watermarks are not acceptable; pictures will be judged; pictures submitted after August 4, 2022, will be disqualified.
CPS from the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labor (Ministry VSA), Section YHC which falls under CPS, says that WBW is part of CPSs annual calendar of health observances which is aimed at promoting health related issues and topics on a monthly basis.
