World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration of the role of breastfeeding in our homes, our communities, and the world.  As a part of our 2016 theme, Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development, we are proud to announce that Journal of Human Lactation (JHL) is making available 10 essential articles to everyone – FREE through 1 September 2016.

The Journal of Human Lactation is essential for building our knowledge as IBCLCs. We believe knowledge guides our practice, strengthens our value, and supports our role in transforming world health.

Read the following JHL articles—free through 1 September 2016!*

1. Suck-Swallow-Breathe Dynamics in Breastfed Infants
2. Weighing the Facts: A Systematic Review of Expected Patterns of Weight Loss in Full-Term, Breastfed Infants
3. Therapeutic Breast Massage in Lactation for the Management of Engorgement, Plugged Ducts, and Mastitis
4. Behavior of the Newborn during Skin-to-Skin
5. Breastfeeding Duration and Primary Reasons for Breastfeeding Cessation among Women with Postpartum Depressive Symptoms
6. Breastfeeding Self-efficacy: A Critical Review of Available Instruments
7. Transfer of Methamphetamine (MA) into Breast Milk and Urine of Postpartum Women who Smoked MA Tablets during Pregnancy: Implications for Initiation of Breastfeeding
8. Cultural Determinants of Optimal Breastfeeding Practices among Indigenous Mam-Mayan Women in the Western Highlands of Guatemala
9. Effect of Cup Feeding and Bottle Feeding on Breastfeeding in Late Preterm Infants: A Randomized Controlled Study
10. Self-Reported Reasons for Breastfeeding Cessation among Low-Income Women Enrolled in a Peer Counseling Breastfeeding Support Program

Journal of Human Lactation is the official journal of ILCA. It is a quarterly, peer-reviewed journal publishing original research, insights in practice and policy, commentaries, and case reports relating to research and practice in human lactation and breastfeeding. JHL is relevant to lactation professionals in clinical practice, public health, research, and a broad range of fields related to the trans-disciplinary field of human lactation.

*You may already have access to these articles through a library or other subscription.

The 2016 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) theme is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. Join International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in observing WBW 1-7 August 2016. To find out more about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and available #WBW2016 resources, read this Lactation Matters post.

At the World Breastfeeding Week website, WABA explains how breastfeeding is linked to each of the SDGs along four thematic areas. Throughout the week, ILCA will highlight each of these themes to help you better understand the SDGs and learn how to connect your critical local efforts to these larger international goals.

WBW Theme #4: Women’s Productivity and Employment

Breastfeeding plays an important role in reducing poverty (SDG 1); ensuring quality education and lifelong learning (SDG 4); increasing gender equality (SDG 5); promoting inclusive work opportunities (SDG 8); building industry, innovation, and infrastructure (SDG 9);  and eliminating disparities in and among countries (SDG 10).

Around the world, governments are emphasizing women’s participation in the labor force as a solution for economic growth, gender equality, and poverty reduction. Women are often forced to accept poorly paid, low-quality jobs. About 830 million women, mainly in developing countries, lack social protection in their job situation that might enable them to continue caring for their families as they had before.

Without protections for paid maternity leave, flexible scheduling, and breaks to pump or breastfeed, breastfeeding rates for working women decrease. This reduction in breastfeeding may come with an increase in childhood illnesses, resulting in time away from school for children and employment for their parents. Maternity leave policies are effective in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates. Only 53% of countries meet the International Labor Organization’s 14 week minimum standard for maternity leave. In fact, every additional month of paid maternity leave decreases infant mortality rates by 13%. Incorporating lactation rooms and paid breastfeeding breaks can increase breastfeeding at six months.

Women’s unpaid caring activities in the household are important to the health, development, and well-being of all family members and must be recognized in economic and social development strategies. To narrow the gender gap at work, women need support to combine their productive and reproductive roles, and this support must incorporate the time and structures necessary for continued breastfeeding.

What support do women receive for breastfeeding when they return to work in YOUR community?

• Promote paid parental protection policies that are gender equitable and which support co-parenting and breastfeeding.
• Talk to some local employers about how they could make their workplaces supportive for breastfeeding.
• Find out your country’s laws surrounding maternity protection, including the type of leave and workplace facilities most local employers are providing.
• Advocate at all levels and between sectors for the needs and rights of maternity protection of workers in both the formal and informal employment sectors.
• Encourage politicians and officials in your country to assess the status of their current maternity and parental protection entitlements using existing tools such as the World Breastfeeding Trends Initiative (WBTi).

For the most up-to-date information about WBW 2016 and to download and purchase promotional materials, please visit the World Breastfeeding Week website by clicking here.

The 2016 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) theme is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. Join International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in observing WBW 1-7 August 2016. To find out more about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and available #WBW2016 resources, read this Lactation Matters post.

At the World Breastfeeding Week website, WABA explains how breastfeeding is linked to each of the SDGs along four thematic areas. Throughout the week, ILCA will highlight each of these themes to help you better understand the SDGs and learn how to connect your critical local efforts to these larger international goals.

WBW Theme #3: Environment and Climate Change

Breastfeeding plays an important role in clean water and sanitation (SDG 6); the use of affordable, clean energy (SDG 7); developing safe, sustainable communities (SDG 11); encouraging responsible consumption and production (SDG 12); taking action on climate change (SDG 13); and caring for seas and marine life (SDG 14), as well as our terrestrial environment and its inhabitants (SDG 15).

Breastfeeding is the first practical step we can take to protect not only the health of babies and mothers, but also the health of our planet. It is the most vulnerable populations that are most affected by more-violent and less-predictable natural disasters resulting from climate change.  Finding ways to encourage continued breastfeeding and (when necessary) relactation can help safeguard children’s health and the health of the environment, while comforting traumatized families.

Although not yet quantifiable in monetary terms, there are clear environmental costs associated with not breastfeeding babies. Artificial feeding is a contributing factor to global warming, which is causing climate change. Breastmilk is a “natural, renewable food” that is environmentally safe and produced and delivered to the consumer “without pollution, packaging, or waste.”

Formula production and use generate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which accelerate global warming and produce pollution and toxic emissions upon disposal. 720,450 tons of milk formula sold annually in six Asian countries generated almost 2.9 million tons of GHG. This is equivalent to nearly 7000 million miles driven by an average passenger vehicle or 1.03 million tons of waste sent to landfill sites.

Breastfeeding helps the transition to a low-carbon economy from one based on fossil fuels. No electricity is needed to produce breastmilk, and it requires no fuel for transport. This reduces overall emissions of carbon dioxide, the principal greenhouse gas, and enables greater economic autonomy for individuals and communities.

Many places already suffer from a lack of consistent, clean water sources. Amidst the devastation caused by this increase in the amount and nature of natural disasters, artificial feeding is even more risky, as an increased lack of clean water and infrastructure make it difficult to ensure the safe preparation of baby food. And this is no small concern. It is estimated that more than 4000 liters of water are needed to produce 1 kg of breastmilk substitute powder.

What can you say to people in YOUR community about breastfeeding and the environment?

• Encourage your government to include improvement of breastfeeding practices as part of their work for achieving the SDGs.
• Encourage researchers to quantify the carbon footprint of formula feeding in your country.
• Use this data to lobby your governments to allocate a budget for policies and programs to increase breastfeeding alongside those allocated to reduce pollution.
• Demand the inclusion of breastfeeding in any list of actions to reduce our carbon and water footprint and in discussions about climate change.

For the most up-to-date information about WBW 2016 and to download and purchase promotional materials, please visit the World Breastfeeding Week website by clicking here.

The 2016 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) theme is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. Join International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in observing WBW 1-7 August 2016. To find out more about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and available #WBW2016 resources, read this Lactation Matters post.

At the World Breastfeeding Week website, WABA explains how breastfeeding is linked to each of the SDGs along four thematic areas. Throughout the week, ILCA will highlight each of these themes to help you better understand the SDGs and learn how to connect your critical local efforts to these larger international goals.

WBW Theme #2: Survival, Health, and Well-Being

Breastfeeding plays an important role in reducing poverty (SDG 1); promoting the general health and well-being of families (SDG 3); ensuring quality education and lifelong learning (SDG 4); eliminating disparities in and among countries (SDG 10); and developing safe, sustainable communities (SDG 11).

Envision a child born in a poor urban area. Her family considers breastfeeding a natural and integral part of her care. Their healthcare provider is trained to provide breastfeeding support. With a healthy baby at home, her mother is able to work. The child is successful in school, in part, because breastmilk has helped her develop well, grow, and remain healthy. The contribution of breastfeeding to the health of both mother and child can help this family rise out of poverty and into a better future.

Breastfeeding provides the foundation for lifelong health and well-being. Children and mothers who do not breastfeed are at greater risk for many conditions including acute and chronic illness for children, and breast and ovarian cancer for mothers. 823,000 children die annually due to sub-optimal infant feeding practices. 20,000 deaths due to breast cancer could be averted if  mothers breastfed optimally.

The financial cost of a program to implement the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF’s Global Strategy for Infant and Young Child Feeding in 214 countries is estimated at $130 per live birth. This investment in breastfeeding support is likely to pay off financially in as little as one or two years, and pay off academically immediately. (On average, babies who are breastfed have a 2.6 point higher intelligence quotient than non-breastfed babies.)

What does breastfeeding look like in YOUR community? How many facilities are Baby-Friendly?

• Talk to politicians and other leaders about the value of improving breastfeeding rates to achieve the SDGs.
• Work to ensure that everyone in the community have access to skilled breastfeeding care.
• Advocate for national health regulations which ensure that the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding are integrated into maternity care at all birthing facilities.
• Advocate for breastfeeding to be fully included in the curriculum for pre-service training of all physicians and nurses.

For the most up-to-date information about WBW 2016 and to download and purchase promotional materials, please visit the World Breastfeeding Week website by clicking here.

The 2016 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) theme is Breastfeeding: A Key to Sustainable Development. Join International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in observing WBW 1-7 August 2016. To find out more about the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and available #WBW2016 resources, read this Lactation Matters post.

At the World Breastfeeding Week website, WABA explains how breastfeeding is linked to each of the SDGs along four thematic areas. Throughout the week, ILCA will highlight each of these themes to help you better understand the SDGs and learn how to connect your critical local efforts to these larger international goals.

WBW Theme #1: Nutrition, Food Security, and Poverty Reduction

Breastfeeding plays an important role in reducing poverty (SDG 1); addressing food safety, nutrition, and insecurity (SDG 2); promoting the general health and well-being of families (SDG 3); and creating sustainable consumption patterns (SDG 12).

Envision an isolated land where famine is common, where mothers are known to breastfeed their children until they become toddlers. These mothers know that breastfeeding is sustenance and food security for their young children. In low-income areas particularly, mothers commonly stop breastfeeding only when they feel that their child is big and strong enough to no longer need that  protection.

Undernutrition, including sub-optimal breastfeeding, underlies 45% of all deaths of children under 5 annually. The  most prevalent form of malnutrition, nutritional stunting (low height for age), is already prevalent at birth and continues to increase sharply until 24 months of age. The window of opportunity for reducing stunting is 1000 days from conception until two years of age. Early investments in prevention of low birth weight and stunting, and early initiation of and exclusive breastfeeding, contribute to reducing the risk of later obesity and chronic diseases.

In addition to the benefits to overall health and sustainability, breastfeeding can contribute to financial independence and sustainability. Not breastfeeding is associated with economic losses of about $302 billion annually or .49% of world gross national income. Families worldwide spend an estimated $54 billion annually purchasing milk formula. Also, adults who were breastfed as children were found to have higher incomes than those who were not breastfed.

What role can breastfeeding have in promoting good nutrition and food security in YOUR community?

• Talk to mothers and local health services. Plan actions based on what you learn about the situation in your community.
• Engage entire families to discuss the importance of infant feeding and how they can support breastfeeding women in their homes and their communities.
• Help people in your community to see breastfeeding, timely complementary feeding, and continued breastfeeding up to two years or beyond as normal.
• Ensure that local health facilities, pharmacies, and grocery stores adhere to the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
• Work with agricultural extension programs to extend breastfeeding support to rural communities.

For the most up-to-date information about WBW 2016 and to download and purchase promotional materials, please visit the World Breastfeeding Week website by clicking here.