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Hundreds of Philippine Moms in Show of Support for Breastfeeding

Hundreds of Philippine Moms in Show of Support for Breastfeeding
illustration © stocksnap/pixabay.com

Hundreds of Philippine mothers simultaneously nursed their babies in public on Sunday, some of them two at a time, in a government-backed mass breastfeeding event aimed at combating child deaths.

About 1,500 women, some of them wearing tiaras and superhero T-shirts, sat on the vast floor of a Manila stadium and let their babies suckle to the beat of dance music.

“Breastfeeding is love. It is difficult, but we do it for love,” said Abegirl Limjap, a pregnant 38-year-old property manager in a “Super Mom” superhero costume as she nursed her two boys, one aged five and the other 11 months.

Mothers participate in a breastfeeding event in Manila on August 5, 2018. Hundreds of Philippine mothers simultaneously nursed their babies in public on Sunday, some of them two at a time, in a government-backed mass breastfeeding event aimed at combating child deaths. Image: AFP/Noel Celis
Mothers participate in a breastfeeding event in Manila on August 5, 2018. Hundreds of Philippine mothers simultaneously nursed their babies in public on Sunday, some of them two at a time, in a government-backed mass breastfeeding event aimed at combating child deaths. Image: AFP/Noel Celis


The annual event aims to draw public support for a government campaign to get more mothers to switch to breast milk from infant formula, organizer Rose Padua told AFP.

The World Health Organization and the United Nations Children’s Fund recommend that children be given breast milk within the first hour of birth and be exclusively breastfed for their first six months.

Globally however, three in five babies are not breastfed early, putting them at higher risk of death and disease, the two UN agencies said in a report earlier this year.

The annual event of 'Hakab', which means to cling tightly to the body, was organised by NGO Breastfeeding Pinays. Image: EPA
The annual event of 'Hakab', which means to cling tightly to the body, was organised by NGO Breastfeeding Pinays. Image: EPA

Twenty-seven children out of every thousand died before the age of five in the Philippines in 2016, according to WHO data.

WHO and UNICEF estimate about half of Filipino babies were initiated into early breastfeeding in 2013, barely changed from 46 percent in 2003.

“It’s an empowering moment,” said first-time mother Joyce Balido, 29, as she cradled her four-month-old girl at the mass breastfeeding event.

Image: EPA
Image: EPA

 

“It was very difficult to establish a milk supply at first. I am sleep-starved but I committed myself to have my daughter exclusively breastfed,” added Balido, an engineer.

Sixty-one other mass breastfeeding events were held in other Philippine cities over the weekend, said Padua, the event organizer.


She said the country was on course to beat last year’s attendance of 4,775 nursing mothers in 25 events.

 

 


Source : AFP | The Jakarta Post | Inquirer

Indah Gilang Pusparani

Indah is a researcher at Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Penelitian dan Pengembangan Daerah Kota Cirebon (Regional Development Planning and Research Agency of Cirebon Municipality). She covers More international relations, tourism, and startups in Southeast Asia region and beyond. Indah graduated from MSc Development Administration and Planning from University College London, United Kingdom in 2015. She finished bachelor degree from International Relations from University of Indonesia in 2014, with two exchange programs in Political Science at National University of Singapore and New Media in Journalism at Ball State University, USA. She was awarded Diplomacy Award at Harvard World Model United Nations and named as Indonesian Gifted Researcher by Australian National University. She is Researcher at Regional Planning Board in Cirebon, West Java. She previously worked as Editor in Bening Communication, the Commonwealth Parliament Association UK, and diplomacy consulting firm Best Delegate LLC in USA. Less
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