PHM-Exch> WABA- ILCA Joint Statement on breastfeeding for gender equality and sustainable development

[Claudio Schuftan]

From: World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) <waba at waba.org.my>


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The International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) and the World
Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) have partnered to create the
following statement to be delivered to the Commission on the Status of
Women (CSW64) with the goal of highlighting the promotion and protection of
breastfeeding and skilled lactation care on the world stage. Although the
event itself has been scaled back in light of the current concerns
regarding coronavirus disease (COVID-19), we hope to elevate the statement
at upcoming meetings of the General Assembly. We also welcome you to share
the statement widely within your community and with your national
leadership.

*“Breastfeeding is the biological norm but it is not yet the social norm.
When a mother chooses to breastfeed, every one of us has the responsibility
to protect and support her. By doing so we’ve started a partnership with
her. Breastfeeding partnerships matter, a lot! Not just at home with a
partner and family but also at work and socially…..when everyone involved
learns and positively accepts the challenge to shift breastfeeding to
become the social norm.” Leah Hughes, Girls Globe
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=70ed095f6c&e=858833e631>
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=bc6115a699&e=858833e631>*


This year, the global community will mark the twenty-fifth anniversary of
the Fourth World Conference on Women and the adoption of the Beijing
Declaration and Platform for Action (1995). The highlight includes a review
of current challenges that affect the implementation of the Platform for
Action and the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of women
and its contribution towards the full realization of the 2030 Agenda for
Sustainable Development. The protection, promotion and support of
breastfeeding are embedded in the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for
Action
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=5db5e9c911&e=858833e631>(1),
I
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=6e4300fa09&e=858833e631>nternational
Labour Organisation (ILO) Maternity Protection Convention C183
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=05193e1e44&e=858833e631>

<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=ad93ff371c&e=858833e631>(2)
and CEDAW
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=819b53d08c&e=858833e631>(3).
Breastfeeding is one of the most effective and cost-effective ways to save
and improve the lives of children everywhere, yielding lifelong health
benefits for infants and their mothers. Therefore,
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=a874b6f28c&e=858833e631>
breastfeeding
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=b22e791133&e=858833e631>
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=56fc984151&e=858833e631>is
also a key intervention to achieve all 17 Sustainable Development Goals.

Women’s reproductive health and rights must be prioritised as a key
component of the Sustainable Development Goals. Lactation and breastfeeding
are part of the reproductive continuum and require access to consistent
information and skilled support. Breastfeeding protects the health of women
by reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, diabetes, and heart
disease.
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=4669bec211&e=858833e631>Increased
breastfeeding rates
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=dbf69da175&e=858833e631>
could prevent 20,000 maternal deaths each year from breast cancer alone and
prevent over 820,000 child deaths each year.  Breastfeeding rates are
stagnant or declining in many parts of the world. The cost of not
breastfeeding on the global scale is about $302 billion annually
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=4f30b70e8f&e=858833e631>.
Although some progress has been made in supporting breastfeeding it is far
from being the social norm.

When breastfeeding support is offered to women, the duration and
exclusivity of breastfeeding is increased. Characteristics of effective
support include: that it is offered as standard by trained personnel during
antenatal or postnatal care, that it includes ongoing scheduled visits so
that women can predict when support will be available, and that it is
tailored to the setting and the needs of the population group. The Warm
Chain
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=c414ae7a75&e=858833e631>
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=cd8b61582c&e=858833e631>places
the mother-baby dyad at the core and follows the first 1,000 days timeline.
With consistent messages and proper referral systems throughout the warm
chain, the mother-baby dyad will benefit from ongoing support and skilled
assistance.

Women’s economic empowerment is inextricably linked to their empowerment as
mothers and primary infant caregivers. According to the ILO, 830 million
women
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=a52ef73444&e=858833e631>
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=fefd67b93a&e=858833e631>workers
do not have adequate maternity protection. When fathers/partners support
breastfeeding and are involved in caring for the baby, breastfeeding
improves, the parental relationship is better. Supporting parents at work
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=bd4d2e14ba&e=858833e631>
is a prerequisite for optimal breastfeeding, distributing care work and
transforming social norms. Parent-friendly policies, which enable women to
remain and progress in paid employment and encourage men to take their fair
share of care work, are crucial to achieving gender equality at work and at
home.

Balancing work and family life, including breastfeeding, is increasingly
necessary for all. This will ensure a productive and healthy workforce thus
leading to a better society.  Effective partnerships between governments,
employers, trade unions and civil society organisations will increase
access to gender-equitable social protection. Gender equitable social
protection includes legislation, positive social norms and supportive work
policies which are the basis of the Empowering Parents Campaign.
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=3ae22b2466&e=858833e631>

In light of the Political declaration on the occasion of the twenty-fifth
anniversary of the Fourth World Conference on Women
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=3984996db5&e=858833e631>,
the International Lactation Consultant Association
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=a0e37cc733&e=858833e631>
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=ff2d12283a&e=858833e631>and
the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action
<https://waba.us8.list-manage.com/track/click?u=9c4737de875c6fa12b87991e8&id=2b092d6bfb&e=858833e631>,
therefore, call upon governments, UN agencies, health systems, workplaces,
communities and civil society organisations to

   -

   *Implement gender-equitable social protection that will enable
   breastfeeding and greater gender equality.*
   -

   *Enact and monitor national legislation and policies that uphold the
   rights of women and their children in diverse contexts.*
   -

   *Enact paid parental leave and workplace breastfeeding policies for
   women in the formal and informal economy.*
   -

   *Create a warm chain of support for breastfeeding across healthcare,
   workplace and community from pregnancy until the child's second birthday. *
   -

   *Invest in interventions such as support for breastfeeding as a means to
   improve the health and survival of women and children.*

Together we can help create a better world for women and men, girls and
boys by supporting breastfeeding to become the social norm. This will
benefit all of society.




Endnote

(1) Promote public information on the benefits of breast-feeding; examine
ways and means of implementing fully the WHO/UNICEF International Code of
Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes, and enable mothers to breastfeed
their infants by providing legal, economic, practical and emotional
support; feeding for working mothers” (paragraph 106(r); “Eliminate
discriminatory practices by employers and take appropriate measures in
consideration of women’s reproductive role and functions, such as the
denial of employment and dismissal due to pregnancy or breast-feeding, or
requiring proof of contraceptive use, and take effective measures to ensure
that pregnant women, women on maternity leave or women re-entering the
labour market after childbearing are not discriminated against;(paragraph
165(c); “Ensure, through legislation, incentives and/or encouragement,
opportunities for women and men to take job-protected parental leave and to
have parental benefits; promote the equal sharing of responsibilities for
the family by men and women, including through appropriate legislation,
incentives and/or encouragement, and also promote the facilitation of
breast-feeding for working mothers; (paragraph 179(c).
(2) maternity leave; the right to cash and medical benefits; the
prohibition of dismissal during maternity leave; and the right to daily
breastfeeding breaks during working hours, breastfeeding breaks and
facilities in the workplace and maternity leave.
(3) special measures “aimed at protecting maternity shall not be considered
discriminatory” (Article 4.2); that women should be afforded, “the right to
protection of health and safety in working conditions, including the
safeguarding of the function of reproduction” (Article 11.1f).

@ILCA @UNWomen #CSW64 #Beijing+25 #breastfeeding#WABA#GenerationEquality
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