World Breast Feeding Week

What is world breast feeding week and what is the history of this annual celebration of lactation?

World Breastfeeding Week is the annual celebration of lactation. It is held during the first week of August, from the first to the seventh. Around the world, breastfeeding advocates hold celebrations, demonstrations, conferences and shows. Their efforts are to help generate public awareness and support of breastfeeding. This annual celebration started eight years ago.

In 1992, a group called the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, or the WABA, coordinated the first worldwide celebration of breastfeeding. The WABA is a global network of organizations and individuals, who believe that breastfeeding is the right of all children and mothers. These people dedicate themselves to protect and support this right. The goal of the WBW is to re-establish a global breastfeeding culture. We want to educate and activate social, political, economic and cultural support for breastfeeding everywhere.

The annual World Breastfeeding Week is to promote the knowledge that breastfeeding is best for mom, baby and the Earth. It is to help make people understand just how powerful  a negative influence giant corporations that manufacture formula can have over consumers.

Each year, during World Breastfeeding Week, WABA develops a theme to help unite lactating women. The activities and celebrations are based on that theme throughout the year. As the years go by, it is the hope of WABA, IBFAN and other dedicated breastfeeding support organizationsa that breastfeeding becomes the norm in society and not the exception and that it is accepted more throughout the world.

To download WBW 2009 announcement  click the link below:

Download WBW 2009

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Don't listen to what the rich world's leaders say - look at what they do

Take the thousands of Filipino children who die every year courtesy of the formula milk corporates, backed by US lobbying

George Monbiot
Tuesday June 5, 2007
The Guardian

It is time once again for that touching annual ritual, in which the world's most powerful people move themselves to tears. At Heiligendamm they will emote with the wretched of the earth. They will beat their breasts and say many worthy and necessary things - about climate change, Africa, poverty, trade - but one word will not leave their lips. Power. Amid the patrician goodwill, there will be no acknowledgement that the power they wield over other nations destroys everything they claim to stand for.

The leaders of the G8 nations present themselves as a force for unmitigated good. Sometimes they fail, but they seek only to make the world a kinder place. Bob Geldof and Bono give oxygen to this deception, speaking of the good works the leaders might perform, or of the good works they have failed to perform - but not mentioning the active harm. They refuse to acknowledge that what the rich nations give with one finger they take with both hands.

Look at what is happening, right now, in the Philippines. This country has many problems, but one stands out: just 16% of children between four and five months old are exclusively breastfed. This is one of the lowest documented rates on earth, and it has fallen by a third since 1998. As 70% of Filipinos have inadequate access to clean water, the result is a public health disaster. Every year, according to the World Health Organisation, some 16,000 Filipino children die as a result of "inappropriate feeding practices".

These are the deaths caused only by acute results of feeding children with substitutes for breastmilk. A summary of peer-reviewed studies compiled by the campaigning groups Infact and Ibfan suggests that breastfeeding also reduces the incidence of asthma, allergies, childhood cancers, diabetes, coeliac disease, Crohn's, colitis, poor cognitive development, obesity, cardiovascular disease, ear infections and poor dentition. Switching from bottle to breast could prevent 13% of all childhood deaths - a greater impact than any other measure. Panaceas are rare in medicine, but the mammary gland is one.

Both the government of the Philippines and the UN blame the manufacturers of baby formula for much of the decline in breastfeeding. These companies spend over $100m a year on advertising breastmilk substitutes in the Philippines, which equates to more than half the department of health's annual budget. Those who appear most susceptible to this advertising are the poor, who are also the most likely to be using contaminated water to make up the feed. Some spend as much as one third of their household income on formula. Powdered milk now accounts for more sales than any other consumer product in the Philippines. Almost all of it is produced by companies based in the rich nations.

Since Ferdinand Marcos was deposed in 1986, the government of the Philippines has been trying to stand between these corporations and vulnerable mothers. It has failed. It plugs one loophole; the formula companies find another. Baby Milk Action, one of the world's most impressive public health campaigns, has compiled a dossier of breaches of the marketing code drawn up by the World Health Organisation. Formula companies have been dispensing gifts to both health workers and mothers, running promotional classes and meetings and advertising their wares on television and in magazines and papers. These practices, though mostly legal in the Philippines, are all discouraged by the code.

In February this year, the Pharmaceutical and Healthcare Association of the Philippines (Phap), which represents multinational companies, ran a series of advertisements expressing concern for women unable to breastfeed their children. The campaign was described by Jean Ziegler, the UN's special rapporteur on the right to food, as "misleading, deceptive, and malicious in intent". He claimed the adverts "manipulate data emanating from UN specialised agencies such as WHO and Unicef ... with the sole purpose to protect the milk companies' huge profits, regardless of the best interest of Filipino mothers and children".

Last year, in the hope of arresting this public health disaster, the Philippines' department of health drew up a new set of rules. It prohibited all advertising and promotion of infant formula for children up to two years old. It forbade the formula companies from giving away gifts or samples, and from providing assistance to health workers or classes to mothers. The new rules seem stiff, but they all come straight from the WHO's code. Phap, whose members include most of the world's largest pharmaceutical companies, went to the supreme court to try to obtain a restraining order. When it failed the big guns arrived.

The US embassy and the US regional trade representative started lobbying the Philippines government. Then the chief executive of the US Chamber of Commerce in Washington - which represents 3m businesses - wrote a letter to the president of the Philippines, Gloria Arroyo. The new rules, he claimed, would have "unintended negative consequences for investors' confidence". The country's reputation "as a stable and viable destination for investment is at risk". Four days later, the supreme court reversed its decision and imposed the restraining order Phap had requested. It remains in force today. The government is currently unable to prevent companies from breaking the international code.

So the department of health asked a senior government lawyer, Nestor Ballocillo, to contest the order. In December Ballocillo and his son were shot dead while walking from their home. The case remains unsolved; Ballocillo was working on several contentious cases at the time. Last month the US regional trade representative paid another visit to the Philippines government. The department of health appears to be wavering. In two weeks the campaigners promoting breastfeeding will present their arguments to the supreme court to try to get the order lifted, and the formula companies will try to stop them. If the companies win, thousands of children will continue to die of preventable diseases.

The pressure to which the US government and the US Chamber of Commerce has subjected the government of the Philippines is at odds with almost everything the G8 now claims to stand for: the millennium health and education goals, the eradication of poverty, fair terms of trade. But the G8 nations will pursue their stated objectives only to the point at which they collide with their own interests. Away from their sentimental summits, they pull down everything they claim to be building.

The G8 demands action on climate change; the World Bank, controlled by the G8 nations, funds coal burning power stations and deforestation projects. The G8 requests better terms of trade for Africa; Europe and the United States use the world trade talks to make sure this doesn't happen. The G8 leaders call for the debt to be reduced; the IMF demands that poor nations remove barriers to the capital flows that leave them in hock. The G8 leaders simultaneously wring their hands and wash their hands: we have done what we can; if we have failed, it is only because of the corruption of third world elites.

The question is no longer whether the undemocratic power the G8 nations exert over the rest of the world can be used for good or ill. The question is whether it will cease to be used.
monbiot.com

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World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for the safe preparation, storage and handling of powdered infant formula. Powdered infant formula (PIF) has been associated with serious illness and death in infants due to infections with Enterobacter sakazakii. During the production process, PIF can become contaminated with harmful bacteria such as Enterobacter sakazakii and Salmonella enterica. This is because, using current manufacturing technology, it is not feasible to produce sterile PIF. The WHO was requested to develop guidelines for the safe preparation, storage and handling of PIF and these were based on research evidence presented at two international expert meetings. These guidelines are considered to be a generic document that will provide guidance and support for countries and governments. However, they can also provide useful information for infant feeding specialists and those caring for new mothers, who may require additional background information into the recent change in recommendations for the making up of PIF.
Guidelines for the safe preparation, storage and handling of powdered infant formula
A systematic review of education and evidence-based practice interventions with health professionals and breast feeding counsellors on duration of breast feeding.

A systematic review was carried out to examine the effects of training, education and practice change interventions with health professionals on the duration of breast feeding.

Nine studies fulfilled the inclusion criteria, of which two were carried out in the UK. Many of the studies reviewed had methodological limitations and in addition the settings and contexts lacked comparability. Evidence from these studies was insufficient to draw conclusions about overall benefit or harm associated with the interventions. However, from one of the methodologically more robust studies, it seems that UNICEF/WHO Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFI) training has the most potential to influence breast feeding duration.

Spiby H et al (2007) A systematic review of education and evidence-based practice interventions with health professionals and breast feeding counsellors on duration of breast feeding. Midwifery 4 April 2007.

Implementing the Baby Friendly Initiative abroad – evidence of the impact in Turkey.
The impact of the introduction of the Baby Friendly Initiative in a Turkish hospital has recently been measured. 297 babies, born in the 4 months following implementation, were compared with a similar number born before implementation. Breastfeeding at 6 months was increased one and a half fold after the implementation and breastfeeding was also statistically significantly improved by the end of the second year.

A Duyan Camurdan, S Ozkan, D Yuksel, F Pasli, F Sahin, and U Beyazova (2007) The effect of the baby-friendly hospital initiative on long-term breast feeding. Int J Clin Pract 11 Apr 2007.

Could the scent of mother's own expressed breastmilk improve breastfeeding in preterm infants?

A study was carried out to assess the effects of exposure to the odour of their mother's breastmilk on breastfeeding behavior of preterm neonates. Whilst the study was small (13 preterm babies born at 30-33 weeks gestational age), the results may show some promise for what is a simple and cost-free intervention. At 35 weeks, each baby was exposed to the appropriate odour stimulus (either their mother's own expressed breastmilk (EBM) or water) for 120 seconds on 5 consecutive days immediately prior to a breastfeeding attempt. Babies were weighed before and after each feeding session. During each breastfeeding session, babies in the EBM group displayed longer sucking bouts and consumed more milk than the control group infants. The authors concluded that brief exposure to the odour of mother's milk prior to breastfeeding had a positive effect on sucking behaviour and milk intake of preterm babies, which in turn resulted in a shortened hospital stay.

Raimbault C., Saliba E., Porter R.H. (2007) The effect of the odour of mother's milk on breastfeeding behaviour of premature neonates. Acta Paediatr;96: 368-71.
This is a news update from the UNICEF UK Baby Friendly Initiative. To unsubscribe or to change your subscription, click on the buttons below.

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Muslims for the Cure

PLEASE MAKE a DONATION of at least $5! This Saturday, June 16, my children and I will join our team "Muslims for the Cure" to raise funds to support the Komen Puget Sound Race for the Cure in the fight against breast cancer.   Diseases don't discriminate by race, color, or creed. One in eight women will be stricken with breast cancer. God has promised us that there is a cure for every diesease. Our unity will, by God's grace help us find the cure.   The more we raise, the more the Puget Sound Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure can give back to fund vital breast cancer education, screening and treatment programs in the medically underserved communities in Western Washington and support the national search for a cure.

Please join me in the fight by my making a generous tax-deductible contribution to Komen Puget Sound. You can make a donation online by simply clicking on the link at the bottom of this message.

Whatever you can give will help, but I would like to STRONGLY encourage each and every one of you to make a MINIMUM CONTRIBUTION of $5. I truly appreciate your support and will keep you posted on my progress. If you would like to also donate to my children's campaigns, their links are below:

Rilla
http://www.pugetsoundraceforthecure.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1040&px=1161821

Sulay
http://www.pugetsoundraceforthecure.org/site/TR?pg=personal&fr_id=1040&px=1161822

Thank you so much for your time and support in the fight against breast cancer! Every step counts!

Samia El-Moslimany, Team Muslims for the Cure Susan G. Komen for the Cure Puget Sound Affiliate1900 N. Northlake Way #135 Seattle, WA 98103

Please Support Me In The Race

JOIN THE FIGHT AGAINST BREAST CANCER TODAY! EVERY STEP COUNTS! I am participating in the Race with the hopes of raising as much money as possible to provide for research programs in the Puget Sound region.

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