In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, the World Health Organization (WHO) and United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) called on governments to create “family-friendly policies” supporting breastfeeding advocacies.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme is “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding.”
WHO and UNICEF believe in the importance of breastfeeding on child’s development.
In a joint statement, the two UN agencies said that as the world is celebrating Breastfeeding week, they are calling all governments and all employers to implement “family-friendly policies” supporting breastfeeding, particularly for working parents.
“The evidence is clear that during early childhood, the optimal nutrition provided by breastfeeding…can strengthen children’s brain development with impacts that endure over a lifetime” said in a statement.
They also explained that mothers need time off from work to recover from birth and get breastfeeding off to a successful start… Time off work is also important for fathers: Paid paternity leave allows fathers to bond with their babies and promotes gender equality.
They also highlighted the relevance of pro-breastfeeding policies in the workplace, which include safe, private, and hygienic space for expressing and storing breast milk. These kinds of policies according to them help to advance business objectives and strengthen the economy.
“Family-friendly policies support women’s participation in the workforce… Such policies have been shown to increase employee retention, improve job satisfaction, and result in fewer absences,” they said.
