Poster of video contest on “Breastfeeding Week”
Dharamsala: Department of Health, CTA to observe World Breastfeeding Week from 1st to 7th August 2020. The Health Education Desk of the department looks forward to release the awareness videos made on the subject by the participants of the short awareness video contest on BreastFeeding Week. The contest was promoted on TibetTV and official social media handles of the health department.
Every year, 1-7th August is commemorated as World Breastfeeding Week. The theme of World Breastfeeding Week 2020 is “Support breastfeeding for a healthier planet” which highlights how infant breastfeeding can directly affect the environment and climate change, and how it is responsible for the health and well-being of the planet and its people.
This global campaign was first organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) in collaboration with the World Health Organization (WHO) and UNICEF in 1992 to raise awareness about the benefits of exclusively breastfeeding for the initial 6 months of a child’s life. The goal was to reintroduce the culture of breastfeeding around the world as the primary source of nutrition to ensure proper growth and protection of the child from various deadly diseases including pneumonia.
Breastfeeding has both short term and long term advantages for the baby and the mother. A breastfeeding mother is less likely to have postpartum hemorrhage, better bonding with the baby and breastfeeding also can act as a temporary measure of contraception.
The long-term advantages for the mother includes reduction in risk of developing endometriosis, ovarian and breast cancer and better weight control.
For the babies, in the short term, they would have less problems in the GI tract, less instances of respiratory issues such as colds and pneumonia, fewer ear infections, better vision in the long-term, fewer cases of bacterial meningitis, and fewer admissions to the hospital overall.
The benefits of breastfeeding do not stop in the short-term; later on in life they are less likely to be obese, there is less risk of them developing asthma, and even some cancers as studies have shown.
Breast milk also serves as a natural and renewable source of nourishment for children that does not impact the environment in a negative way and is completely green as it produces no wastes.
While breastfeeding is a natural process, it is not always easy. Mothers need support – both to get started and to sustain breastfeeding. By ensuring support to the mothers during this journey of motherhood, we can all contribute towards a healthier future, for the baby and the earth.