Breastfeeding: Healthy, Economical, Pure
Exactly
3,738 mothers trooped
to the San Andres Sports and
Civic Center in Malate,
Manila last May 4. Bringing with them their babies – some of whom were
still in hospital gowns – they successfully broke the Guinness world
record for simultaneous breastfeeding. More than that, they helped to
highlight the need for mothers to breastfeed their children, a practice
that is sadly declining.
BY AUBREY MAKILAN
Bulatlat
SIMULTANEOUS: Thousands of Manileña mothers
simultaneously breastfeed their babies in a record-setting activity,
May 4
PHOTOS BY AUBREY MAKILAN
As early as 6 a.m. of
May 4, there were already mothers, carrying their children, lined up
outside the San Andres Sports and Civic
Center in Malate, Manila.
But unlike the usual
gathering where they line up for relief goods, usually free noodles, eggs
and milk, the mothers were there to feed their children with their own
milk.
For the record
Dubbed "Sabay-Sabay
Sumuso sa Nanay (Simultaneous Breastfeeding)," thousands of nursing
Manileño mothers gathered to beak the Guinness world record for
simultaneous breastfeeding.
To avoid
disqualification, organizers confiscated feeding bottles and pacifiers
before entering the gymnasium.
According to the
United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef), Berkeley,
California, was the previous record
holder where 1,135 mothers simultaneously breast-fed their babies for a
minute on Aug. 3, 2002.
But the Philippines
successfully broke the record. Organizers from the Manila City Hall,
Children for Breastfeeding (CBF), Nurturers of the Earth, Inc., and Unicef
announced there were 3,738 mothers who participated in the event.
"I think Manila has
broken the world Guinness record for simultaneous breastfeeding,” said Dr.
Nicholas K. Alipui, Unicef representative in the Philippines.
Declining number
of breastfeeding mothers
Starting out as a
protest activity by mothers who were reprimanded for breastfeeding in
public, the activity became part of the World Breast-Feeding Week every
August.
The event also aimed
to revive the breast-feeding culture in the country, organizers said.
Based on the records
of the Department of Health (DOH), the number of women who breastfed
exclusively during the first six months after giving birth fell from about
25 percent five years ago to 16 percent in 2005.
Citing the 2003
National Demographic Health Survey, Dr. Elvira Henares-Esguerra, CBF
director, said that only 54 percent of infants were breastfed within an
hour after birth while only 33.5 percent of infants under six months were
exclusively breast-fed.
For the World Health
Organization (WHO) and Unicef, there is a “special urgency to protect and
promote breastfeeding” as “exclusive breastfeeding is the single most
effective measure for reducing child death.”
Health benefits
The activity also
aimed to educate mothers on the health benefits of breastfeeding.
According to Unicef,
a baby who receives infant formula during the first two months of its life
is up to 25 times more likely to die from diarrhea and four times more
likely to die from pneumonia than an exclusively breast-fed baby.
"For mothers,
breastfeeding reduces blood loss after childbirth, helps in child spacing
in a natural way, and reduces the risk of various cancers associated with
female organs," Henares-Esguerra said, referring to cancer of the breast,
ovaries and uterus.
She added that
exclusively breast-fed babies were smarter and incurred a low lifetime
risk for diseases including diabetes, obesity and cancer.
Misinformation
The organizers also
campaigned against misinformation being peddled by milk companies.
Henares-Esguerra, who
until now breastfeeds her 4-year old son, discouraged mothers from
receiving milk donations saying that sometime last year, about 30 million
liters of milk were contaminated in Europe.
"The manufacturers
claimed that they had thrown out the contaminated milk, but how can we be
sure?” she said. “They may give it as donations to poor communities.”
WHO and Unicef also
raised concerns about infant formula advertising making it “difficult for
parents to understand the greater benefits of proper breastfeeding.”
It said 16,000 of
82,000 Filipino children who died in 2004 of preventable causes could have
been saved by breastfeeding.
Alipui said spurious
infant formula advertising must be curtailed, noting that several milk
companies in the country claim their products produce child geniuses.
In response, health
officials said they were considering the imposition of a ban on
advertising by milk companies, which claim that formula milk was a
substitute for breast milk.
On the other hand,
the government of Manila vowed to promote breastfeeding in various health
centers, hospitals and government offices. Manila Mayor Lito Atienza, who
claimed all his children were breastfed, said he would propose the
installation of breastfeeding centers in government offices and shopping
malls as well.
Economical
The mass
breastfeeding activity was also a rare occasion where the rich and the
poor gathered together.
Rosana Robles, 50,
still breastfeeds her 5-year old daughter Nash. Even when she was in the
United States where she gave birth to Nash, never did she refuse to
breastfeed even in public places there.
“It is love in the
purest form,” she said. “I’m so lucky I’m blessed. I have milk.”
Although she can buy
even the most expensive milk formula, “it was a natural instinct that I
will breastfeed,” said the oldest participating mother in the event.
Because of
breastfeeding, she proudly said that, aside from common illness like
colds, none of her three children has been hospitalized.
While some mothers
advocate for breastfeeding because of its health benefits, many breastfeed
because it is economical.
Debralyn Tandas, 23,
was one of those mothers from the slum areas who admitted that milk
formula had become too expensive for their budget.
Tandas’ husband is a
tricycle driver who hardly earns P250 ($4.84 at $1: P51.61) a day.
Although she once
tried to feed her son with milk formula, she said that she chose the
cheapest brand that costs P85 ($1.65). Even if she wanted to give him the
“best” milk being promoted by television advertisements, she could not
afford to do so considering their other expenses.
“Nung napansin
kong madalas s’yang magsuka sa loob ng isang buwang pagdede n’ya sa bote,
itinigil ko na,” she said. “Nakatipid pa kami.”(Before
I noticed that he vomited often after one month of bottle feeding, so I
stopped it. We were even able to cut down on our expenses.) Bulatlat
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