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Breastfeeding, Why Not At Work?
posted (August 7, 2015)
Breast feeding: it is usually done in the confines of a home or some private setting. But, it doesn't have to be - in fact coordinators of the World Breastfeeding Conference say it shouldn't be; they say mothers should be provided with a clean and comfortable space to breast feed at their workplace. Now some of you may ask: why do you need a separate space for that? Can't the mother just take a couple minutes out of her lunch break to breastfeed her baby? Well today at the Radisson, health professionals told us that it is about more than just feeding the baby. I found out more.

Courtney Weatherburne reporting
Mini Mouse strollers, car seats and soft cotton sheets are just a few items that are needed to keep a baby happy and comfortable.

But contentment is only one aspect of a baby's life - his or her health is also crucial and there is one steady source/thing that can ensure ultimate wellbeing.

Faith Babb, Coordinator Collet Education & Resource Center
"Breast feeding is the best source of nourishment for infants and young children."

For mothers, this is something they hear too often. During their pregnancy they are constantly reminded through TV and radio advertisements and through informative pamphlets and booklets outlining the numerous benefits of breast feeding to the mother and the child.

Today at the World Breast Feeding Week Conference, those benefits were highlighted.

Dr. Luis Roberto Escoto, PAHO Representative
"Breast feeding also promotes weight loss and reduce breast and ovarian cancer incidents in mothers."

Dr. Jorge A. Polanco, INCAP Coordinator
"Many times, as I said, we take things for granted. We assumed that she's a lady, she got pregnant, she knows how to breastfeed, wrong premise. Many times the details and benefits are not known and as a result of little sensitization, breastfeeding is not extended."

And it is that extension from the home to the work place that needs to be accomplished. Coordinators say that organizations need to accommodate breast feeding working mothers.

Dr. Adrian Coye, CEO, KHMH
"I think this is a very important event regarding awareness because in the essence, we want to have business community and all employers to recognize their role in helping to foster the future leaders of our country; our children, investing in our babies. And so creating an opportunity to breastfeed in the workplace and to have that baby friendly type of arrangement is extremely important."

Penny Casasola, Breastfeeding Counsellor
"It addresses that situation where mothers feel that the work place is not supportive and so they quit. Either because they are given a bathroom express their milking which is a no, no because no one prepared their meal in a bathroom. So it means that work place needs to be... and we do have workplaces in Belize but not enough."

For mother Kim Vasquez and her 6 month old baby Eliana, this conference and what her employer is doing for her has greatly impacted her life.

Kim Vasquez, Mother
"For me I wanted to be able to share or give an example of what it's been like at the National Institute of Culture and History where I was provided with a comfortable clean space to express breast milk. They have accommodated me with flexibility in my work hours and extended lunch hour to go home and be with the baby and re-connect with her and just being genuinely supportive. That makes a big difference when your co-workers, your colleagues are being supportive of what you're trying to accomplish with your baby that makes big difference."

Dr. Jorge Polanco, INCAP Coordinator
"If that baby that is ours and is our responsibility to nurture and for him to develop properly would only know that I as the mother did not do that extra effort to breastfeed while I was working. If that baby would know that my manager cared less about it even though I would bring it up to his attention or her attention. if that baby would know that what that meant is that he or she would be less ready to fight infections as an infant, as a child, if he or she would know that they will be a greater risk for chronic diseases as young adults for example diabetes, high blood pressure cardiovascular diseases. If they would know that and when they begin walking and can understand and I would tell them, baby I love you what do you think they would say? They would say yeah right."

1.45 million babies die globally in developing countries as a result of inadequate/insufficient breast feeding.

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