ILOILO City — The steady increase in breastfeeding rates among women shows an upbeat acceptance and practice of this as part of food security and nutrition for 0-24-month old children.
Dr. Anthony Redaniel, MDG Fund 2030 Field Program Coordinator said during a meeting with the Nutrition Action Officers and Regional Nutrition Committee members held recently, that the Department of health has been gearing up for local breastfeeding campaign.He added that the breast feeding campaign is still upeat.
Redaniel is overseeing the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals in two focused areas in Iloilo, namely, Carles for a rural area and Iloilo City for an urban area. He is based at the National Nutrition Council Office in Iloilo City.
He said that among the outcomes of the program are the expected increase of 20 percent of Filipino women breastfeeding by 2011, the reduction of under nutrition by three percent annually and the strengthening of partnerships among nutrition stakeholders through local nutrition committees.
In a related development, the Department of Health has recently introduced the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding, wherein the Philippines is among the 33 countries that have completed training on the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative.
These ten steps are: 1) have a written breastfeeding policy that is communicated routinely to all healthcare staff; 2) train all health-care staff in the skills necessary to implement the policy; 3) inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding; 4) help mothers initiate breastfeeding within the first 30 minutes of life; 5) show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if separated from their infants; 6) give newborn infants no food or drink other than human milk unless medically-indicated; 7) practice rooming in. Allow mothers and infants to stay together 24 hours a day; 8) Encourage breastfeeding on demand; 9) give artificial teats or pacifiers; and 10) foster establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers on discharge from hospital or clinic.
Dr. Redaniel said this program endeavors to help local government units promote massive breastfeeding as a major food security and nutritional thrust./TE
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