World Breastfeeding Week  Breastfeeding: Education for Life

Quotes from Carol Bellamy, Executive Director 
United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) 

"This year's theme, Breastfeeding: Education for Life, focuses on the need to integrate information on the importance of breastfeeding into education content, the importance of breastfeeding to society and the benefits of breastmilk for children are rarely taught. Educators are often unaware that breastfeeding gives a headstart in education, by enhancing optimal brain development." 

"Educators also lack information and good understanding of the role breastfeeding plays in psychological development, environmental protection, household economics and sociology. WABA has attempted to address this shortcoming and produced a series of publications targeted for different age groups - colouring and comic books for children, as well as postcards, calendars, posters, action folders and banners. UNICEF supports WABA's valiant efforts to protect, promote and support breastfeeding." 

Quotes from Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General,  
World Health Organisation (WHO)  

"This year's theme goes to the heart of the matter, whether in terms of maintaining breastfeeding as the normal way to feed babies, or helping to re-establish breastfeeding where it has declined." 

"Women's earliest experiences will influence their attitudes and performance in relation to breastfeeding later in life. Girls from childhood and on into adolescence should be positively oriented towards breastfeeding through both their life experience and formal education. Breastfeeding mothers should be encouraged to let children of all ages, but particularly, girls, observe how they feed and care for their infants. The advantages of breastfeeding should be emphasised in the context of family-life education for all adolescents,  and complete information should be given about the important relation between breastfeeding and child-spacing." 

"Policy- and decision-makers at every level should know that helping mothers to fully assume their nurturing role pays off handsomely in short- and long-term health benefits for the entire society. For example, breastfeeding decreases health care costs by reducing the incidence and severity of illness among infants and young children, while mothers' health is also protected. Employers need to know that supporting their women workers' desire to breastfeed their babies is also good business because it reduces employee absenteeism and turnover." 

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), is a global network of organisations and individuals. WABA believes breastfeeding to be the right of all children and mothers; dedicates itself to protect, promote and support this right; and acts on the Innocenti Declaration. WABA works in close liason with UNICEF. WABA, PO Box 1200, 10850 Penang, Malaysia Tel: 60-4-6584 816  Fax: 60-4-6572 655 Email: waba@waba.org.my  Website: http://www.waba.org.my World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is organised every 1-7 August to pool together the efforts of all breastfeeding advocates, governments and agencies to generate public awareness and support for breastfeeding. WBW involves over 120 countries and is endorsed by UNICEF and WHO.