Antenatal
With conventional prenatal care, there are some challenges of delivering information about breast/chest feeding while pregnant.
Why is the focus in childbirth classes primarily about the birth?
Parents are often focused on the actual birth rather than what will happen after birth, such as breast/chest feeding.
Teach a lactating parent how to express milk.
How do you improve support postnatally immediately and for weeks after birth?
Establish access to human milk banks to provide donor milk when needed.
How to improve support during special circumstances?
Principal agent of mucosal immunity.
What is the role of Secretory IgA?
Advocate for government and decision-makers to invest in education and support for breast/chest feeding to create enabling environments for families with babies.
How can we strengthen breast/chest feeding target?
Globally about 41% of all babies are breast/chestfed exclusively for six months and only 45% continue to breast/chest feed up to two years.
(2021 World Health Day)
What is a contributing factor to a low % of exclusively breast/chest feeding infants? Lack of staff and healthcare provider commitment to ensure that pregnant women and their partners are well informed about the importance of breast/chest feeding and how to manage it.
Advocate for health and community services to include breast/chest feeding counseling and contacts with mothers & babies.
How to improve ongoing breast/chestfeeding support?
Practice skin to skin care to premature low birth weight infants.
How to improve support during special circumstances?
Oligosaccharides softens stools and provides gastric and respiratory pathogens protection by binding with pathogens.
Why oligosaccharides important?
Educate families about the misinformation provided surrounding Covid 19 & rampant marketing by the breast milk substitute industries as the safer option that scared parents into formula feeding.
How can we strengthen and increase breast/chest feeding target?
Manufacturers appear to be educating and biasing expectant parents, enticing potential vulnerable customers, we need the Code.
Why do we need the Code?
Commercial influence of breast/chestmilk substitutes & feeding bottle manufacturers & distributors are not to be trusted. Breast/chest feeding must be protected. Call out manufacturers to maintain their responsibility under the Code to ensure parents make unbiased informed decisions.
Encourage employer to provide a breast/chest feeding room, paid maternity/parental leave & flexible working hours
How to improve breast/chestfeeding support at work?
Encourage re-lactation and wet nursing (where appropriate).
How to improve breast/chest feeding support during special circumstances, such as formula shortage?
The hormone responsible for milk ejection and uterine contractions.
What is oxytocin?
Educate hospital administration/staff that sponsored free education for healthcare workers impedes breast/chest feeding support in the health system by giving misleading info, biassing healthcare provider attitudes & interfering with establishment of breast/chest feeding
How can we strengthen and increase breast/chest feeding target?
Breast/chest feeding is a natural experience, but wonder why everyone isn't doing it...
Why is it necessary to promote breast/chest feeding?
Both health care and the community. All trained antenatal staff. Healthcare providers need to have the competency to implement skin to skin contact within the 1st hour of birth. In many situations this must be advocated and not a typical experience.
Advocate normalizing breast/chestfeeding and Breast/chest feeding-friendly environments throughout common areas such as community, church, and public events.
How to improve breast/chest feeding support in the community?
Encourage lactating parent to pump to build milk supply while infant maturing, and not ready to feed by mouth. Have lactating parent's milk available for tube feedings.
How to improve support while infant in special care nursery/NICU due to prematurity?
Orbicularus Oris, Mentalis, Buccinator, Tongue, Masseter, Temporalis, Medial/Lateral Pterygold
What muscles affect infant's suck/swallow?
Campaign Pledge support - physical and or virtual to world breast/chest feeding week 2022
How to strengthen breast/chest feeding target?
Each visit the topic of breast/chest feeding should be discussed with clients.
How often should clients be educated on breast/chest feeding?
Use of available technology & practical demonstrations/aids about breast/chest feeding for each antenatal visit to support and normalize the experience for new parents is recommended.
Advocate normalizing breast/chest feeding and Breast/chest feeding-friendly environments pediatricians office, daycares, shopping malls, places of employment, kid friendly businesses.
How to maintain breast/chestfeeding for 1-2 years?
Consistent feeding plan opportunity with health care providers who prioritize parents in the plan of being the first to breast/chestfeed (vs. bottle feed) their child and if that is not possible use a cup/spoon.
How to improve support to lactating parents while infant is in the special care nursery/NICU?
Maxilla, Mandible and Hyoid bone.
What bones affect suck/swallow?
Follow World Breastfeeding Week website & social media facebook, twittter & instagram.
How to support global breast/chestfeeding targets?