World Breastfeeding Week: What is it and How Useful Is It?
What is it?
World breastfeeding week has been educating communities worldwide since 1991. This initiative was designed by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), a global organization made of up individuals and organizations working to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Their work is guided by major declarations and legislation (WHO, UNICEF etc.). For more on all of the work WABA does and who their core partners are visit their website (waba.org.my).
Ok, so WABA puts World Breastfeeding Week on. What is it and why does it matter? This is an event that is meant to put breastfeeding in the spotlight and emphasize a different theme each year to protect and promote it. Some previous themes in the recent past have included:
- 2012 - Understanding the Past-Planning the Future. Celebrating 10 years of WHO/UNICEF’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding
- 2013 - Breastfeeding Support: Close to Mothers
- 2014 - Breastfeeding: A Winning Goal for Life
- 2015 - Breastfeeding and Work: Let’s Make It Work
Now in 2016
This year the theme is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. There are 17 sustainable development goals that were set out by world leaders last year. They include a broad range of topics from poverty to gender inequality to climate change. This year is about linking and informing how breastfeeding can impact each of these goals. Here are some highlights:
No Poverty/Zero Hunger: These goals I can easily link to breastfeeding. Breastfeeding is free and provides food security for infants in their early months and supports their nutrition up to age two and beyond.
Clean Water and Sanitation: There are many areas of the world without access to adequate clean water and resources to sterilize bottles and prepare formula safely. Breastfeeding protects infants in these areas from infection, illness and death resulting from improperly prepared formula.
Affordable and Clean Energy/Life Above Water/Life Below Water/Climate Change: All of these goals can be linked to the fact that breastfeeding is much less labour and energy intensive than manufacturing formula. Formula inherently requires agricultural input and also manufacturing. Additionally, there is no waste from breastfeeding so oceans and landfills are saved the waste that comes along with formula feeding.
What does all of that mean to me? (As a previous breastfeeder, someone currently breastfeeding or maybe thinking about doing so in the future when the time comes?)
All of the goals and their links to breastfeeding sound important and they are all true. Especially when taken in a broad global context, considering the many different countries that make up this world and the differences in each. In terms of protecting the environment it is true that the amount of energy, space and materials it takes to make formula, feed it to infants and get rid of the waste is high. Breastfeeding does also provide food security for infants and offer them a healthy start to life.
However, in my own small corner of the world I sometimes am torn when I see or set up displays for some of the World Breastfeeding Week themes (see photo for my latest arts and crafts attempt). This is not because they are wrong or bad but I’m not sure if the purpose they are meant to serve is filled by displaying this information on the postpartum ward of our hospital, or in the public health unit or above the streets in giant banners.
As a mother who STRUGGLED to breastfeed her child for months I look at the theme and information for this year’s breastfeeding week and can’t help but think to myself: “Great, so not only am I not able to feed my child the breastmilk that I know is best for her but now I feel that I’m letting the whole world down by contributing to food insecurity and climate change” It makes me feel frustrated and I am worried that there may be other mothers in this situation, who walk by this display that celebrates the amazing far reach of breastfeeding and all they feel is more failure about their individual breastfeeding situation.
I know this is a very narrow view of the issue. The work that WABA does and the purpose of World Breastfeeding Week is far broader than the women struggling to breastfeed in Kamloops, BC or in many other corners of the world. If you are easily able to breastfeed and celebrate World Breastfeeding Week that is great too. Globally governments and leaders need to know this information to work positive breastfeeding policies into their future legislation and public health frameworks.
So World Breastfeeding Week is OK. It serves a great global purpose and the information is important. That being said, if you are one of those who is just trying to meet your goal of breastfeeding and caring for your own child (no matter how you feed them), remember that this is already a huge job and don’t worry too much about the display that’s talking about breastfeeding and poverty, climate change, and gender inequality. Anyone who has had or taken care of babies knows there is already more than enough to worry about.
Sources:
World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
waba.org.my
World Breastfeeding Week
worldbreastfeedingweek.org