What is World Breastfeeding Week?
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World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is August 1st - 7th and celebrates the signing of the Innocenti Declaration, produced and adopted in 1990 by participants at the WHO/UNICEF meeting on "Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding." The document lists the benefits of breastfeeding, plus global and governmental goals. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated in 120 countries on various dates.
This year we focus on supporting women in their efforts to do what is most important for the health and survival of their children even during emergency situations.
- Being able to continue breastfeeding even during an emergency can bring comfort and a sense of normalcy even in the most stressful situations.
- Breastfeeding can continue even when an emergency interferes with the family’s established food supply. Situations that would otherwise be devastating for families that rely on sufficient funds for and access to formula, sanitation for feeding supplies, and refrigeration are no cause for alarm when the established food supply for the baby is mother’s milk.
- A breastfed baby is better prepared to deal with health challenges, avoiding some medical emergencies.
Join with us in supporting WBWC 2009 and in creating optimal conditions for mother and her breastfeeding baby in all crisis and emergency situations.