Breastfeeding: The Best Start To Life
World Breastfeeding Week: August 1 -7 2009
Breastfeeding: A Vital Emergency Response
Are you ready?
UNICEF promotes and supports breastfeeding as the best start to life for children in every society. In a world where 9.2 million children die before their fifth birthday due to preventable causes, and where malnutrition is associated with more than half of all childhood deaths, the sustained efforts of health professionals, responsible corporate citizens and all levels of governments are required to support breastfeeding.
World Breastfeeding Week 2009
This year’s theme focuses on the life-saving capacity of breastfeeding - everyday and in emergency situations.
For more information, exciting activities & materials please visit: www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org
World Breastfeeding Week was first celebrated in 1992 and is now observed in over 120 countries by UNICEF, the World Health Organization and their partners, including the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action.
Join the World Breastfeeding Week 2009 Virtual Breastfeeding Shield Event Pledge.
World Breastfeeding Week is an opportunity to examine the status of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
The Code advocates for legislation, policies and practices among governments, health providers, corporations and civil society that provide adequate information on appropriate infant feeding and regulate the marketing of breastmilk substitutes, bottles and teats. Canada’s legal framework accommodates only a few provisions of the Code. Familiarize yourself with the Code and write to or meet with your Member of Parliament to urge their support for legislation and policy consistent with the Code.
UNICEF's goal is the empowerment of all women to breastfeed their children exclusively for six months and to continue breastfeeding, with complementary food, well into the second year and beyond.
Exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months is crucial for the health of mothers and infants everywhere. UNICEF supports the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative to promote the proper initiation of breastfeeding in hospitals and health centres around the world. The Global Strategy for Infant and Child Feeding by UNICEF and the World Health Organization urgently calls for a renewed commitment to implementing evidence-based practices in support of breastfeeding as essential to child health and survival.
During the past few years, the number of Canadian mothers who initiate and sustain breastfeeding has increased, partly as a result of baby-friendlier maternal leave policies and communities supportive of breastfeeding mothers. The Canadian Maternity Experiences Survey released by the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) in March 2008 states infant feeding practice in Canada needs to be strengthened: breastfeeding intention (90.0%) and initiation rates (90.3%) are high, however, exclusive breastfeeding is short-lived. The Canadian Perinatal Health Report (PHAC, 2008) notes breastfeeding initiation rates vary by province - in 2005, rates ranged from 62.3% in Newfoundland and Labrador to 98.8% in Yukon - and that maternal age has a bearing on breastfeeding patterns. Older mothers have higher initiation rates and more exclusively breastfeed for six months or more.
The Breastfeeding Committee of Canada is the national authority on the Baby Friendly Initiative. It administers the designation process for community health services, based on the WHO/UNICEF Ten Steps for hospitals and birthing centres. Canada now has 26 Baby Friendly health facilities that operate with the gold standard in breastfeeding promotion: ten hospitals, two birthing centres, and 14 community health facilities.