ILOILO City – To mark the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month, the city government through the City Health Office (CHO) is holding its first ever “milk-letting” activity.
The event, scheduled on Aug. 22, will be spearheaded by the La Paz Maternity and Reproductive Health Clinic in partnership with breastfeeding advocate group, Breastfeeding Ilonggas (BFI) and other stakeholders.
Breastfeeding mothers will donate their milk, according to Dr. Pia Pico, Nutrition Program Medical Officer Coordinator at the La Paz Maternity and Reproductive Health Clinic.
Donated breast milk is usually given to mothers who do not have milk during the first few days – or got sick or have complications – after delivery, said Pico.
They will also partner with Western Visayas Medical Center (WVMC), which has its own Human Milk Bank, for the storage of the donated milk, she added.
The CHO and district health centers have been advocating breastfeeding.
Aside from economical, breast milk has perfect nutrients, can be easily digested and efficiently used, and protects babies against infections, said Pico.
It also helps bond baby and mother, helps delay a new pregnancy, and protects the mother’s health, she added.
As of the second quarter of 2023, Pico said, 92.8 percent of mothers do 90-minute newborn-initiated breastfeeding upon giving birth at their health clinic while those who continue breastfeeding for up to five months are around 95.73 percent.
Aside from milk-letting, BFI will also hold the annual breastfeeding event dubbed “Hakab Na” or “The Big Latch On” on Aug. 19 at the SM City Iloilo main activity center.
The event, which is now on its 10th year, is in solidarity with other breastfeeding mothers and advocates across the globe. Lactating mothers, children and their supportive families gather as one community to do a simultaneous breastfeeding flash mob for one minute.
There are also talks and interactive activities for mothers and children for at least an hour and a half.
The event is aligned with the World Breastfeeding Week with the theme, “Enabling breastfeeding – making a difference for working parents.”
It focuses on the impact of paid leave, workplace support and emerging parenting norms on breastfeeding.
The group aims to engage governments, policymakers, workplaces, communities and parents to play their critical roles in empowering families and sustaining breastfeeding-friendly environments in the post-pandemic work life.
BFI is an Iloilo-based breastfeeding support group that was created by nine breastfeeding mothers in 2013.
It continues to bring awareness campaigns to the local community by holding private and public gatherings to promote, educate and support breastfeeding in Iloilo. /PN
