BREAST FEEDING IN A
GLOBALISED WORLD
Breast feeding, a
right of mothers, is also a fundamental component that assures
a child’s right to food, health and care. To think globally and
act locally is a difficult task. The efforts to promote breast
feeding practices all over the world faces the same problem. As
the community has globalised, it is high time to promote the idea
through proper communication.
This year’s World
Breast Feeding Week (BFW) August 01-07, 2003, focuses on "Breast
feeding in a Globalised World - for Peace and Justice" with
the aim to maximize the potential of global communication to educate
the people on the importance of breast feeding, appropriate complementary
feeding, and the health risks of artificial feeding. Besides providing
an opportunity to consider the challenges of globalisation, the
theme identifies the resources that globalisation offers to celebrate
breast feeding as a symbol of peace and justice. To protect, promote
and support breast feeding practices, it aims to recognize the
challenges and opportunities of globalisation so that all sectors
of the world-wide breast feeding community may think globally
and act locally.
Time and again, the
medical fraternity has viewed breast feeding, as a human right
and the right to get food, care, health and opportunities for
development as fundamental right. The infant gets all these only
when it is breast-fed. At the same time, breast feeding is also
beneficial for the mother. It helps her reduce the risk of breast
and ovarian cancer, anaemia and osteoporosis-related hip fracture.
Hence breast feeding is essential to protect the health of both
the mother and the child.
The relevance of
observing BFW is increasing in view of the present global scenario.
When a mother is employed her engagements in the work place often
affect the infant. Job compulsions may sometimes oblige her to
deprive the child of breast feed. In such circumstances, creating
awareness of the benefits of breast feeding is necessary. It has
been established that breast feeding helps the child to grow up
with better physical and mental health. It provides a unique protection
against many deceases infecting the child’s gastro-intestinal
and respiratory tracts, ear and urinary tract. It is a scientific
fact that breast milk is the only normal food for infants. They
get nutritionally-balanced food from it.
There are international
conventions to protect and promote breast-feeding. These include
the Convention of the Rights of the Child (Article 24), the International
Convention of Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women
and the ILO Maternity Protection Convention (2000). A majority
of nations have accepted the first three conventions. The International
Code of Marketing Breast Milk Substitutes is another effort at
the international level to promote breast feeding. This Code sets
some restrictions and limitations on advertisements of breast
milk substitutes.
In India we have
laws to promote breast-feeding. The Infant Milk Substitutes, Feeding
Bottles and Infant Foods (Regulation of Production, Supply and
Distribution) Act is one them. The Maternity Benefit Act 1961
was enacted with the same spirit. Similar motives could be found
in the recommendations of the Fifth Central Pay Commission. The
Government’s decision to enhance maternity leave to 135 days and
introduction of 15 days’ leave to the male government servant
during the confinement of his wife in hospital were the steps
in this direction.
Lack of crèches
and misinformation are also common hurdles in breast feeding.
BFW also aims to provide with accurate information and support
for exclusive breast feeding of the infants for the first six
months, the appropriate use of complementary food, preferably
home-made, side by side upto two years and beyond. The world breast
feeding movement expects a positive result from women to breast
feed and provide optimal care to their children.(PIB Features)
*Inputs
by M.Smithy, IA, PIB, Kochi.
