National Breastfeeding Month

Under Republic Act (RA) 10028, otherwise known as the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009, August of every year is Breastfeeding Awareness Month. This observance aims to raise public awareness on the importance of and to further promote breastfeeding in the country. Cognizant of the many benefits of breastfeeding to women and children, the Philippine Commission on Women (PCW) launched an online integrated campaign that features successful breastfeeding stories and breastfeeding promotion initiatives from both the public and private sectors.

World Breastfeeding Week is being celebrated every year in 120 countries “consistent with the Innocenti Declaration on the Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding, the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, the International Code on the Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and Related Products and subsequent resolutions of the World Health Assembly, to which the Philippines is a signatory.”

The World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), with the support of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), initiated this week-long observance, which promotes exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life.