The Cayman Islands joinsworld-wide celebration of Breastfeeding Week
Protecting and promoting the health of mothersand babies through breastfeeding is the aim of World BreastfeedingWeek, and the Cayman Islands has joined more than 120 countriesin celebrating this annual event.
The commemoration is set for 1 7 Augustunder the theme, Breastfeeding: Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies,said Breastfeeding Co-ordinator Annie Mae Roffey of the PublicHealth Department.
Now in its tenth year of organising WorldBreastfeeding Week, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action(WABA) asserts that women are discouraged from breastfeeding bysocial and health care systems that do not provide optimum supportfor pregnant and new mothers. Lack of factual information andskilled assistance are also hindrances.
In a response that highlights the healthof mothers and their babies, the WABA (and Public Health concurs)recommends natural childbirth, as opposed to the use of strongdrugs to relieve labour pain. Midwives in Cayman also promotethe baby-and mother-friendly guideline of delaying non-medicalprocedures, such as taking measurements or administering eye dropsin newborns, in order to establish breastfeeding as early as possible,Nurse Roffey said.
But in addition to breastfeeding, the expandedfocus of this year's commemoration also promotes mothers' rolesin infants' and children's health, Nurse Roffey acknowledged.Quality nutrition, smoking prevention and cessation, physicalactivity and family planning are vital to women's health. Alsonecessary is proper health care for women with acute or chronicconditions such as tuberculosis, hepatitis C, human immunodeficiencyvirus (HIV) and acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), aswell as drug addictions.
"Too often, a mother's needs and wantsgo unrecognised or unsupported. Her physical and emotional health,her level of education, the help she receives from others, andhousehold economics influence her breastfeeding practices andother aspects of caring for her children," the WABA states."In particular, a woman's pregnancy and childbirth experiencecan greatly impact the way breastfeeding begins and continues."
Government paediatrician, Dr. Marilyn McIntyre,therefore encouraged both women and men in Cayman to learn theadvantages of breastfeeding children. "We're fortunate tohave strong support from public and private health practitioners,community groups, and parents themselves," she said. "Caymanis growing in its acceptance and appreciation of the good healthand bonding benefits associated with breastfeeding, which willpay dividends in the overall health of community in years to come."
For more information about breastfeeding,contact Nurse Roffey at 244-2648.
| Cayman promotes breastfeeding The Public Health Services has organised two special sessions to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week, held 1 7 August: |
| Babies benefit from mother's milk · It fosters optimal growth and development of the baby's brain, immune system, and general physiology. |
| Mothers benefit, too · Breastfeeding lowers the mother's risk for excess postpartum bleeding and anaemia. |