World Breastfeeding Week from today

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu,Aug,1: With the theme 'Enabling breastfeeding: making a difference for working parents', the World Breastfeeding Week is beginning on Tuesday. 

The Breastfeeding Week is celebrated from August 1-7 globally, including Nepal. 

Started in 1992,  the World Breastfeeding Week is being organised in more than 120 countries. 

The Week is celebrated every year with the direct involvement of the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and other related organisations and campaigns around the world.

The week-long celebration aims to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, raise awareness among new parents and improve infant health worldwide.

Breastfeeding, which is considered as the basic right of new-borns, can be classified into two parts: early or complete.

Exclusive breastfeeding is from birth to six months. Water, minerals, glucose and other vitamins and disease-immune elements crucial for a baby are available in mother's milk, so there is no need to feed any other type of additional food. 

The Nepal Demographic and Health Survey 2022 published the statistics of a decrease in the full breastfeeding rate in Nepal.

According to a study published in the month of November/December in 2022, in 1996, 75 per cent of women were breastfeeding their babies, but now it has decreased to 56 per cent.

According to the World Health Organisation, more than half a billion working women are not given essential maternity protections in national laws. Just 20 per cent of counties require employers to provide employees with paid breaks and facilities for breastfeeding.  Fewer than half of infants under six months of age are exclusively breastfed. 

As part of the right to maternity leave mentioned in Section 13 of Chapter 3 of the Right to Safe Motherhood and Reproductive Health Act 2075, 98 days of full paid leave is provided for the promotion and facilitation of breastfeeding for new-borns.  

It is mentioned that all types of government, non-government or private organisations must make necessary arrangements for women working in their offices to breastfeed during office hours for two years after the birth of the baby. Every place like office, school, bus park and airport are required to have a separate breastfeeding room.