World Breastfeeding Week, Oct. 1-7, 2000

Breastfeeding -- It's Your Right! is the theme of the 9th Annual World Breastfeeding Week, Oct. 1-7.

Nova Scotia's Provincial Breastfeeding and Baby Friendly Initiative Committee is encouraging Nova Scotians to recognize breastfeeding's importance as well as the rights of mothers and babies.

The focus of the global awareness campaign extends beyond a woman's right to breastfeed and highlights breastfeeding as a baby's right to eat anytime and anywhere. Breast milk is the perfect food for babies. It provides all the nutrients essential for the development of healthy children and also provides protection against many diseases, including ear infections and pneumonia.

Reinforcing the right to breastfeed and breastfeeding's link to healthy child development are the driving forces for the initiative committee. It was established in the fall of 1999 to promote breastfeeding provincially and at the community level to better support women and families who choose to breastfeed.

Members of the group include representatives of the Cape Breton Regional Healthcare Complex; Health Canada; IWK Grace; Medical Society of Nova Scotia; the Nova Scotia Dietetic Association; regional health boards; the Reproductive Care Program of Nova Scotia ; UNICEF; and the public health and health promotion unit, Nova Scotia Department of Health.

The Baby Friendly Initiative is a co-ordinated, global initiative of the World Health Organization and UNICEF that enables maternity facilities and communities to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

"The Baby Friendly Initiative is helping us to develop partnerships throughout the province that will lead to better awareness and policies, particularly surrounding breastfeeding support in maternity care facilities, public places and workplaces," said Cathy Chenhall, a public health and health promotion program co-ordinator and provincial initiative co- ordinator. "Our goal is to build a culture where breastfeeding is the norm for infant feeding, and where women and families choosing to breastfeed, or considering this option, feel supported."

Nova Scotia's most recent infant feeding survey showed that breastfeeding rates increased nearly 12 per cent between 1984 and 1994. Given the proven health benefits, it is hoped that provincial and community-based efforts will encourage more and more women to breastfeed their babies.

A new Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission policy on breastfeeding in public is a positive step. The policy recognizes that women have a right to breastfeed in public areas such as shopping malls and restaurants and should not be required to go to a more discreet area.

World Breastfeeding Week is an annual event initiated by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action. The alliance is a global network of organization and individuals working to support, promote and protect breastfeeding.