By: Victoria Ward, Regional Director of Save the Children for Latin America and the Caribbean.
The benefits of breast milk for the nutrition, balance and strengthening of the immune system of infant boys and girls are validated through years of scientific research. It is conclusive that there is no substitute formula that provides all the benefits of breast milk. Even so, it is not unusual to find that, from the same health systems, which have the duty to promote and generate public policies in favor of breastfeeding, access to substitute formulas is facilitated for mothers of boys and girls in lactation.
Just over 4 decades have passed since the World Health Organization's International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes was adopted. Since that historic milestone, in Latin America and the Caribbean, most Ministries of Health have been incorporating policies to promote breastfeeding; however, progress in this area has not reached the expected achievements.
It was a surprise to me when a few years ago I visited a public health clinic located in an indigenous community in a country in the region and saw that women were receiving packages of substitute formula. When I inquired about the reasons with the health officials, they assured me that they placed a lot of emphasis on the benefits of breastfeeding, but that in this place of extreme poverty a donation could not be wasted.
At Save the Children we have detected in Latin America and the Caribbean, public health facilities where resources were lacking to provide breastfeeding support services. As a result of this, we have opened programs to provide this critical service in multiple centers in the region.
In 2023, the Lancet magazine launched a series of articles on breastfeeding that address, among other topics, certain typical behaviors of breastfeeding boys and girls, such as sleep patterns different from those of adults or crying, which are part of of normal development of babies are misinterpreted by strategies for the marketing of breast milk substitute formulas, causing misinformation among mothers, health professionals, politicians and decision makers. The evidence provided by these studies is key to understanding the commercial practices that discourage and hinder breastfeeding.
There is still much to do to strengthen public health systems that should provide this critical service so that boys and girls start their lives with all the benefits that breast milk provides. I invite the governments of the region and all who ensure the rights of children to review this series of studies and editorials so that together we can combat misinformation and continue strengthening breastfeeding, which does so much good for the public health systems of our region. Promoting breastfeeding in Latin America and the Caribbean is key so that children are better nourished, with strengthened immune systems and with strong bonds of tenderness that are generated by having contact with the mother during breastfeeding.
