GREAT BAY, Sint Maarten (DCOMM) – World Breastfeeding Week which is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world, kicked off and will also be observed on Sint Maarten.
Collective Prevention Service (CPS), a department in the Ministry of Public Health, Social Development and Labour, the Department of Labour is coordinating a number of activities throughout the month of August.
The activities include Breastfeeding Cafés, ‘Toddler Time’ at the Philipsburg Jubilee Library; Expo at St. Maarten Medical Center; and radio talk show interviews are among the activities planned.
Mothers and mother’s to be are invited to the first Breastfeeding Café to be held on August 10 from6.00pm to 8.00pm at the St. Peters Community Center.
The global theme for Breastfeeding Week 2016 is: Breastfeeding: A key to Sustainable Development.
In September 2015, the world’s leaders committed to 17 goals aimed at ending poverty, protecting the planet and ensuring prosperity. Together, they form the Sustainable Development Goals.
The theme for World Breastfeeding Week 2016 is about how breastfeeding is a key element in getting us to think about how to value our wellbeing from the start of life, how to respect each other and care for the world we share. Breastfeeding is not only the cornerstone of a child’s healthy development; it is also the foundation of a country’s development.
Breastfeeding is the best way to provide infants with the nutrients they need. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth until a baby is six months old.
Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond.
World Breastfeeding Week also commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other organizations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
