World Breastfeeding Week

World Breastfeeding Week takes place in the first week of August each year.  It is celebrated in more than 170 countries worldwide, and this can only keep growing!

Breastfeeding is essential for your baby.   Why?   It provides a child with all the anitbodies and nutrients she or he needs to stop from getting ill in the future.

But won’t a formula do the same thing?   No.   Tests have shown that babies fed with formula have had lower scores on brain development and a greater risk of getting diseases like childhood lymphoma, or breast cancer in their later years.   Stopping breastfeeding too early will also increase these risks.

The event is now in its 26th year and the first campaign launched by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action was “Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative”.

So what can you do to help during World Breastfeeding Week this August?  Well, this year’s theme is ‘Breastfeeding: Foundation of Life’.  It’s all about informing people about the links to nutrition and poverty reduction and engaging with individuals and organisations working on these issues  – but there’s also much work to be done to highlight the importance of the promotion and support of breastfeeding.

Great work is carried out by Breastfeeding Peer Counsellors in helping mothers to continue breastfeeding.

Peer Counsellors can be anyone from the community who have been trained to help and support mothers.  They can answer questions and deal with any issues that mothers may have.  Breastfeeding supporters are encouraged to be trained as Peer Counsellors to help spread the word and increase and support the number of breastfeeding mothers.

If you’re a mother, or an excited mum-to-be, make sure you breastfeed your baby.  It will mean you’ve protected them as best as you know you can.

If you’ve got any breastfeeding questions or queries, go to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action website for more information.