A Report of the GIMS Asia Pacific Conference 2002
Linking & Nurturing Mother Support & Strengthening Maternity Protection
21 – 25 April 2002, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
WABA & Malaysian Breastfeeding Association (PPPIM)
 

With support from  Norwegian Agency  for Development Cooperation  (NORAD) and Ministry  of Health Ministry of Women & Family Development

World Health Organistion United Nations Children's Funds Malaysian Trade Union Congress

The goals of the conference were to highlight good support practices that already exist, explore new support measures, share experiences across different cultural contexts and launch a GIMS network in the region, that would support mothers during pregnancy, birthing, breastfeeding and child care.

The Conference opened on the night of 21 April and ran for four full days, the first two focusing on mother support and the second two days on working women. There were a series of plenary sessions over the four days and 17 workshops on the many faces of mother support. For the working women/maternity protection part, two working group sessions divided up by sub-regions were held to better understand the status of maternity protection by country and to develop actions plans.

The main issue involves mothers who face new challenges to breastfeeding and nurturing as societies change. GIMS calls for employment, health care, and marketplace policies to change too, with the goal of providing better breastfeeding support throughout the reproductive cycle. Particular attention was given to birthing practices, bringing to light the risk of disruption to breastfeeding that comes with many technological birth interventions, while prioritizing access to basic maternity care and extending Safe Motherhood to all women. 

In the second part of the conference, the organisers placed special emphasis on women at work and turned the attention to maternity protection.Representatives from trade unions, governments, and women's reproductive health and rights groups met with breastfeeding advocates to discuss national laws, the chances for ratifying the ILO's new (2002) Maternity Protection Convention 183 and Recommendation 191, how to set up a worksite crèche, and ways to change the workplace from an obstacle to a supportive environment for breastfeeding.

From the GIMS meeting came a list of recommendations for different sectors — mother-to-mother support groups, employers, health care workers and professionals, and the community —as well as a list of people who will act as national focal points for GIMS activities.The Maternity Protection Seminar developed action plans for assessing and strengthening maternity protection at the national level.

The meeting was held with support from and in collaboration with the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD), the Malaysian Ministry of Health and Ministry of Women & Family Development, United Nation Children's Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organisation (WHO), and the Malaysian Trade Union Congress (MTUC).