World Breastfeeding Week 2007

MEDIA RELEASE 25 July 2007

World Breastfeeding Week 2007

Celebration 8 August 2007 - "The most women in synchronized breastfeeding around the world,”

A sucking marathon planned for the world on Wednesday August 8th will be kicked off in New Zealand. Hundreds of breastfeeding women will feed their infants at 10am followed by the Solomon Islands an hour later, Sydney two hours later and so on around the world to the edge of the dateline in Samoa, 23 hours later at their local time of 10am.

Every breastfeeding mother will be counted as part of the attempt by the Philippines to set a new Guinness World Record for "The most women in synchronized breastfeeding around the world”.

Last year Women’s Health Action co-ordinated a New Zealand record of 714. This year New Zealand will attempt to break their own local record and contribute to the world record at the same time.

Here in Tauranga and Papamoa breastfeeding mothers will be gathering to ‘latch on’ at 10am, at Robert Harris Café in the CBD, and Koffee Kulture, Papamoa.

This record attempt is part of World Breastfeeding Week celebrations; August 1st to August 7th every year. This year’s theme is in support of encouraging skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby at birth to facilitate breastfeeding throughout the world and save a million babies’ lives annually.

It is recommended by the Ministry of Health, that infants are fed exclusively on breast milk from birth to four to six months of age and preferably supplemented with appropriate solid food until at least 12 months. The following short term benefits inform this decision:

• Breast milk remains a major source of nutrients throughout the first year of life, even after solid foods have been introduced (after 4-6 months)

• Breast milk is always the right temperature and readily available

• Breast milk is very low cost

• There is less risk of overfeeding or underfeeding

• Breast milk contains optimal ratios of polyunsaturated fatty acids required for retinal and brain development

• The bio-availability of human milk is superior to that of infant formula

The immunological benefits of breastfeeding are:

• Reduces risk of infectious diseases because of maternal antibodies passed to the infant

• Reduces risk of food allergy

• May reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome

Source: Ministry of Health, Food and nutrition Guidelines for Healthy infants and Toddlers (Aged 0-2 years): A Background Paper, June 2000

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