Breastfeeding -
Empowering Women 1995
In September 1995, the 4th United
Nations World Conference on Women takes place in Beijing, China.
Governments, non-governmental organisations and individuals will
take this
opportunity to advance the status of women worldwide. This major world conference inspired
the World Alliance for
Breastfeeding Action (WABA) to choose Breastfeeding:
Empowering Women
as the theme for World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) 1995. WBW is celebrated every year
from 1 to 7 August throughout
the world.
Breastfeeding is also a woman's right.
Women who choose to breastfeed their babies but face obstacles such as lack of
maternity leave,
inadequate support from family, health workers and employers, and
misinformation from the infant food industry are denied their rights.
Obstacles that block a woman's ability to breastfeed must be
removed.
Once a woman establishes
breastfeeding, the practice can be empowering and contribute to gender
equality. Conditions necessary for succesful nurturing, including
breastfeeding, are also conditions which reduce the subordination of women
by challenging negative images of women and by emphasising the value of
women's reproductive work.
To breastfeed is to be in control of
your own body. It is also a challenge to the medicalisation of infant
feeding and to the interests of the baby food industry that promotes
artificial milk and bottle-feeding.
WBW is an opportunity to formally
recognise breastfeeding as a woman's issue. During this WBW, let us work
to remove obstacles women face and show how breastfeeding can be an act of
strength, power, and pleasure for women.
Let women see in breastfeeding a path
towards confirming their own special power.
Breastfeeding is best for women,
babies, families, nations, and for the world. It is natural, economical
and ecological. Breastfeeding is a woman's right. To be breastfed is a
baby's right.
WOMEN 4th World Conference,
Beijing, China, Sept 1995
The United Nations has held three
major world conferences on women in different continents, starting in 1975
in Mexico, followed by Copenhagen in 1980 and Nairobi in
1985.
The Fourth World Conference on Women
will be held in Beijing, China in September 1995.
The goal of the Conference is to
establish a programme of strategic action to eliminate inequalities
between men and women. The theme of the Conference is Action for Equality,
Development and Peace.
It aims at setting guidelines for
member states of the United Nations to adopt policies and actions to
remove gender inequalities.
The practical outcome of the
Conference will be the adoption, by Member States, of a series of United
Nations recommendations for the coming decade. Many organisations will
follow up on the activities undertaken in Member States to implement such
recommendations.
During the World Conference in
Beijing, there will be a Parallel NGO Forum on Women at which women from
all walks of life will bring forward their specific issues of concern,
such as reproductive rights, violence against women, women's work, and
women's health.
WABA in
Beijing
WABA and its member organisations will
participate in the Conference and the NGO Forum and will speak about the
importance of breastfeeding as a means of empowering women. A mime
threatre, workshop and booths on breastfeeding and women's issues will be
organised. At the final Preparatory Committee meeting in New York, March
1995, WABA member organisations worked hard to ensure that the final
document for the Conference integrated language to protect, promote and
support breastfeeding. This has been a challenge which will continue up to
Beijing.
You too can
act...
* Contact your national women's
organisations and your local Ministry of Women's Affairs or
Office on the Status of Women to convince them of the importance of
recognising breastfeeding as a women's issue and incorporate it
within their programme of action.
* Lobby your governments so that
breastfeeding is recognised as a woman's right at Beijing and
beyond.
* Monitor government actions to ensure
past and future recommendations adopted are fully implemented to
support and protect breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding and reproductive
rights
Breastfeeding has been given global
recognition for its contribution to child survival at international
conferences and in international documents.
Less attention, however, is given to
its significant role in empowering women. Breastfeeding empowers a woman
by allowing her to control her own fertility and enhance her health as
well as that of her children. The knowlege that a breastfeeding mother is
less likely to become pregnant is part of the traditional wisdom of many
cultures.
Breastfeeding is a woman's
reproductive right which should be protected, supported and
promoted.
Current research confirms that as long
as a woman is fullyor
nearly fully breastfeeding, and has not resumed menstruation, she has a less than 2% risk of
becoming pregnant.
Family planners know this method as Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM). In areas of world
where artificial
contraception is unaffordable, unavailable or unacceptable, breastfeeding provides a woman
with an effective means
of family planning. A decline in breastfeeding rates contributes to the increase in birthrate
where artificial means
of family planning are not used.
Breastfeeding allows a woman to space
births effectively, according to her own fertility, independently of any possible
forces within her
society which would hinder her right to control her
own fertility.
Breastfeeding and
Empowerment
Empowerment
means:
* the ability of people to gain
understanding and control over personal, social,
economic and political forces to take action to improve their
lives.
* the range of activities from
individual self-assertion to collection resistance,
protest and
mobilisation that challenge power relations.
* a process to change direction of
forces which marginalise women.
Recognise the obstacles
breastfeeding women face.
HELP REMOVE THEM!
WABA joins other women's groups in
using empowerment to address critical concerns of women: human
rights, reproductive health, violence against women,
poverty.
The Women's Conference is an
opportunity to reach outto those involved with issues on women and
development and
discrimination again women. Denying women the right to make an informed choice about how
to feed their infants is indeed a form of coercion. It may take many
subtle forms of
disuasion, such as literature from baby food companies casting doubt on the quality and
quantity of a mother's
milk, advertisement falsely portraying manmade baby milks as superior to women's breastmilk,
and free samples of
baby milk given to mother "in case she does not have enough milk", directly undermining her
confidence
and
ability.
Empowering women will help protect or
restore breastfeeding cultures around with world.
HOW Breastfeeding Empowers
Women
1 Breastfeeding confirms women's power
to control their
bodies, and challenges the bio-medical model and business interests that promote
bottle-feeding.
2 Breastfeeding reduces women's
dependence on medical professionals and validates the tried and trusted knowledge that
mothers and midwives have about infant care and feeding.
3 Breastfeeding encourages women's
self-reliance by
increasing their confidence in their ability to meet the needs of their
infants.
4 Breastfeeding helps child spacing,
reduces the risks
of anaemia and provides protection against ovarian and breast cancer, osteoporosis
and multiple
sclerosis.
5 Breastfeeding requires a new
definition of women's work - one that more
realistically integrates women's productive and reproductive activities, and which values
both equally.
6 Breastfeeding requires structural
changes in society to improve the position and condition
of
women.
7 Breastfeeding challenges the view of
the breast as
primarily a sex object.
8 Breastfeeding encourages solidarity
and cooperation among women at the household, community,
national and
international level.
Enabling & supporting women to
breastfeed
Women need self-confidence, support,
and an understanding of how breastfeeding works. They need supportive health
care facilities
and work environments. This means, having access to accurate information, communicating
their needs to theirfamilies, communities, health care providers and
employers. Merely
telling women to breastfeed, or acknowledging their right to do so, while not removing
the obstacles and and ensuring the necessary support to breastfeed, is
not empowering.
Actions to empower women to
breastfeed
(select and adapt from the list below, suggestions you
find applicable
to your situation)
Women
* Recognise and value the contribution
you make in
terms of household work, breastfeeding and
raising your children.
* Be proud of your breastfeeding. Talk
about it and let others see you doing it in the course
of
your
daily life. Feed in public if you feel comfortable doing so.
* Form support groups to share
practical information on breastfeeding. Establish cooperative
child-care
arrangements.
* If you felt there were practices in
the hospital where you gave birth which jeopardised
your
breastfeed or reduced other women's chances to
do so
successfully, write to the hospital and news-
papers and state your
case.
Men
* Find out as much as you can about
breastfeeding before your baby is born by reading or
attending
classes with your partner;
* Speak to your partner about how you
can best support her. Helping with household chores
to
reduce
her workload is very important.
Empowering each
other
Breastfeeding is a learned art, one
often passed down from mother to daughter in the on-going routine activities of
daily life. But
sadly, the decline in the number of breastfeeding women, in both developed and developing
countries, has resulted
in large numbers of women who have never seen a baby nurtured and nourished at its mother's
breast.
This explains both the popularity and
the importance of mother-to-mother support groups such as those
available through La
Leche League International, the Nursing Mothers Association of Australia and, Amigas
do Peito in Brazil.
Nursing mothers who attend these meetings create
for themselves a
community that can meet the wide spectrum of needs of breastfeeding women. Many discover
that the interaction that takes place between members is
as empowering as
the practical and up-to-date information received.
As their confidence grows, many gain additional
satisfaction from
sharing what they have learned with a new mother who needs just what they
have to offer.
Parents and
teachers
* Encourage your children to learn
about and feel comfortable with their bodies. This will help build
self-confidence to breastfeed in young girls, and a positive attitude
towards breastfeeding in young boys.
* Incorporate breastfeeding education
in schools, particularly, for adolescents. Early exposure to
breastfeeding is a key factor influencing breastfeeding rates among
young mothers.
* Work to provide child-care at
schools.
* Make sure that baby girls are
breastfed and given complementary foods as often as baby
boys.
... foster appropriate complementary
feeding from the age of about 6 months, emphasising continued breastfeeding and
frequent feeding with
safe and adequate amounts of local foods. World Health Organization, WHA Resolution
47.5
Health
professionals
* Help mothers to establish
breastfeeding immediately after birth. Follow the 10 Steps to
Successful
Breastfeeding recommended by WHO/UNICEF.
* Instil confidence in women that they
will be able to breastfeed and that they can overcome
any
problems with sufficient knowledge and
support.
* Provide support to mothers,
including those who return to paid work. Involve family members
in
supporting the breastfeeding mother.
* Actively promote breastfeeding as
the optimum form of infant feeding both before and after
birth;
* Sign the UNICEF Physicians'
Pledge.
* Work to expose and end the subtle
influence infant food manufacturers exert through subsidised
supplies to
hospitals, promotions and free gifts, sponsorship of videos and information
pamphlets and funding of research and medical seminars.
* Actively seek out accurate and
up-to-date breastfeeding information. Ask for WABA
activity sheets on training
health workers.
Employers
* Establish progressive policies that
support employees in balancing their family and
work responsibilities. These include:
maternity and paternity leave; child-care
facilities; flexible work hours; and a private place where women can express and
store milk.
* Contact WABA or its affiliates on
how to create
mother-friendly workplaces.
You
* In your own home, combat the subtle
promotion of bottle-feeding in children's books and
toys.
* Write to TV stations and
newspaper/magazine editors to thank and congratulate them for
positive
breastfeeding content.
* Write to baby food companies about
their misleading marketing practices.
Women's
groups
* Lobby national commissions on women
and status of women groups to include breasfeeding in their
plans;
* Welcome breastfeeding mothers at
women's meetings and seminars, and provide child-care
facilities;
* Boycott products whose advertising
on TV and in magazines use women's breasts as
promotion;
* Lobby your local authorities such as
councillors, mayors and governors to recognise that
breastfeeding is a public
health issue.
* Raise the issue of breastfeeding at
meetings of
your neighbourhood association, women's
group, trade union,
etc.
* Ask key women in public offices to
endorse World Breastfeeding Week and to include
breastfeeding
messages in their speeches;
* Participate actively in World
Breastfeeding Week events. Sign the statement: Breastfeeding is
a
Women's
Issue.
CEFEMINA
CEFEMINA is a women's organisation in
Costa Rica which integrates
breastfeeding support and protection into its
daily activities. Through community health clinics and support groups established
by
leaders in
CEFEMINA, women learn breastfeeding skills and are supported until they are able to
breastfeed successfully.
CEFEMINA also monitores the marketing
practices of baby food companies, and in the 1980s, ran a campaign
against Gerber.
It has managed to bring about national laws on four months-maternity leave and on
marketing. Women who are part of CEFEMINA sense the power in being able
to fully nourish
their infants and to sustain a viable practice free from the influence of advertising
poor hospital
practices.
WOMEN 4th World Conference,
Beijing, China, Sept 1995
Beijing and
beyond
We call on national governments, the
UN system and NGOs contributing to the Conference on Women to advocate for
breastfeeding.
Internationally, women's health and
consumer organisations have been fighting to protect, promote and support
breastfeeding. They have protested against commercial interests that put
profit over the
well-being of mothers and infants. As a result, there are
already a number
of international instruments that can be useful lobbying
tools.
* International Labour Organisation
(ILO) Conventions, No 3 (1919) and No 103 (1952)
* WHO/UNICEF International Code of
Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes, 1981
* Innocenti Declaration on the
Protection, Promotion and Support of Breastfeeding, 1990
* World Declaration of Nutrition, Plan
of Action for
Nutrition, 1992
* Programme of Action of the
International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD),
1994
HAS YOUR GOVERNMENT supported these
initiatives?
Have they been implemented in your
country?
WABA and the 180 days
campaign
The 180 Days Campaign beginning from
the World Summit on Social Development, Copenhagen, 8 March 1995, seeks to
use the 180 days
leading to the September 1995 conference on women to make governments, the UN system and
the world more
responsive to the critical needs and agenda of the
female half of our planet.
1st Aug 1995
WABA calls on women and breastfeeding
groups to jointly lobby
governments to improve the status of working pregnant and breastfeeding women by
providing:
* four months paid maternity
leave;
* child-care and
breastfeeding facilities at the workplace, including at
schools and
hospitals;
* breastfeeding breaks of at least an hour a day; and
* a supportive, clean and safe working
environment.
Acknowledgements
This action folder was produced by
WABA Brazil/Origem in
collaboration with WABA's Women and Work Task Force, La Leche League International, Kathy
Shelton and, Institute for Reproductive Health (IRH). Many thanks to all who reviewed this folder, and
specially to UNICEF for
its support to WABA.
Resources
Van Esterik, Penny: Breastfeeding:
A Feminist Issue, WABA Activity Sheet 4
Batliwala, Srilatha: Empowerment of
Women in South Asia, 1993.
WABA: Breastfeeding: A Woman's
Right,1995.
E Dawson, R Gauld and J Ridler:
Empowering Mothers, 1993.
IBFAN/WABA: Breastfeeding:
Empowerment of Women,
1994.
Shelton, Kathy: Empowering Women to
Breastfeed Successfully, Breastfeeding Review 2(10), 455-458,
1994.
Wellstart: Breastfeeding is a
feminist issue: Women have a right to choose breastfeeding,
1995.
Institute Rreproductive
Health:Breastfeeding as a women's issue: A dialogue on health,
family planning,
work and feminism, International Journal of
Gynecology & Obstetrics, Vol 47, December 1994.
IRH/WABA/Wellstart/APHA statement:
Breastfeeding is a woman's issue, 1995.
La Leche League International:
Breastfeeding and Empowerment, 1995. |
