10 photos that celebrate breastfeeding around the world

Breastfeeding around the world

Today, October 24, we celebrate United Nations Day and what better way to do so than by celebrating motherhood across the world. A hot topic that mother’s share, despite nationality, age or creed, is that of breastfeeding. With that being said, hop aboard as we take a peek at mother’s breastfeeding around the world with a piece of trivia or two about breastfeeding in their respective county.

South Africa

According to childrenandaids.com , "when Nonhlanhla Dubazane, 29, discovered that she was both pregnant and HIV positive, she was frightened, but through antiretroviral treatment (ARV) and uninterrupted breastfeeding, her son, Answer, is healthy and HIV-free.”

Together, breastfeeding and ARVs have the potential to significantly improve a baby’s chances of surviving while remaining HIV free – because breast milk contains antibodies that help protect babies from common childhood illnesses such as diarrhea and pneumonia (the two primary causes of child mortality worldwide) and ARVs reduces the viral load that increases the risk of HIV transmission.

Costa Rica

According to thecostaricanews.com, the National Breastfeeding Committee of the Ministry of Health constantly receives complaints from breastfeeding mothers because companies hamper time for the breastfeeding breaks they are entitled to.

Another complaint is that companies with more than 30 women do not provide areas where they can breastfeed, as stated in Article 100 of the Labor Code, which states that it must be supplied somewhere, easily and according to safety and hygiene standards.

Philippines

Taken from

Canada

In September 2014, prominent donut chain

New Zealand

Currently, more than 8 out of 10 newborns in New Zealand are exclusively breastfed, compared with just over half in 2000. This success is largely down to the country’s efforts to ensure its maternity services are ‘baby friendly’, using criteria set out in the WHO/UNICEF Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI).

Hospital staff are trained to be able to give breastfeeding advice and support to mothers. Before, health workers often used to give out formula. Now they only supply breast-milk substitutes for medical reasons,” says Julie Stufkens, who heads the New Zealand Breastfeeding Authority (NZBA).

Peru

Taken from peruthisweek.com , 55 percent of the babies born in Peru begin breastfeeding within an hour of birth. The World Health Organization has reported that the rate of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months in Peru increased in the last decade or so, and is well above the global average.

Malaysia

According to

China

The World Health Organization reports that in the last two years, Beijing has been working on establishment of 50 baby-friendly communities and 300 breastfeeding rooms. Breastfeeding rooms provide private space for mothers and babies, refrigerators for the storage of breast milk of working women, and provide a space for providing information to new mothers about parenting and other issues.

Argentina and Uruguay

According to Unicef, while most mothers understand the benefits, many face challenges to prolonged breastfeeding, including logistics after returning to work, cultural myths and prejudices about the benefits of mother’s milk in comparison to formula, and the stigma of prolonged breastfeeding as the child gets older.

Africa

According to

Breastfeeding around the world

ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Raisa Tan

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Written by

Raisa Tan

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