By Prairie North Health Region

Breastfeeding – A Key to Sustainable Development

Oct 6, 2016 | 7:46 AM

Prairie North Health Region (PNHR) is joining in the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, October 1 – 7, 2016.

The week serves to protect, promote and support breastfeeding as the optimal method of infant feeding and emphasizes that breastfeeding provides benefits for mother and baby.

This year’s world breastfeeding week theme is to identify the clear link between breastfeeding and sustainable development. Sustainable development is about living in a way that does not harm the generations to come. In 2015, leaders from around the world agreed to 17 sustainable development goals that would help end poverty, protect the planet, and ensure prosperity, by 2030.

Breastfeeding has an important role to play in reaching these goals:
 Environment and climate change
o Fact: Breastmilk is a natural, renewable food that is environmentally safe and is produced and delivered to the consumer without pollution, packaging or waste.
 Nutrition, food security and poverty reduction
o Fact: Adults who were breastfed as children were found to have higher incomes than those who were not breastfed.
 Women’s productivity and employment
o Fact: Every additional month of paid maternity leave decreases the infant mortality rate by 13%.
 Survival, health and wellbeing
o Fact: 20,000 deaths due to breast cancer could be averted if mothers breastfed optimally.

Exclusively breastfed infants have a lower risk of chronic and acute illnesses. Breastfeeding also provides health benefits to the nursing mother, such as decreasing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer, and helping mom return to her pre-pregnancy weight. Breast milk is custom-made to meet the changing nutritional requirements of the growing baby.

Wild Rice Series

From lake to plate: Sask. Polytechnic bringing innovation to tired industry

2h ago

Drug trafficking

Saskatchewan to test out technology that detects drones smuggling drugs into prisons

4h ago

Councillors quit

Tensions flare as RM of Sherwood moves ahead with data centre agreement

4h ago

Breast milk not only provides the perfect nutrition for babies, it is convenient, portable, always served at the right temperature, sanitary and economical.
PNHR encourages the community to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Some ways to do this are to educate your children at an early age of the health benefits of breastfeeding and to make children aware that breastfeeding is the normal way to feed an infant.

You can also look in your local library for children’s books that show breastfeeding moms. In your home and community, support mothers who are or will soon be breastfeeding. Businesses and workplaces can support breastfeeding by providing comfortable seating for breastfeeding moms and by displaying ‘Breastfeeding Welcome Here’ stickers available from PNHR.

For more information about World Breastfeeding Week or for breastfeeding help, contact:
 Meadow Lake Lactation Consultant at 306-236-1570
 North Battleford Lactation Support at 306-446-8632
 Lloydminster Lactation Consultant, at 306-820-6225
 Public Health Nutritionist at 306-446-6415

by Prairie North Health Region

Breastfeeding – A Key to Sustainable Development

What's Trending