An annual event hosted by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.
Breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. Increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800,000 lives every year, the majority being children under 6 months. Breastfeeding also decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20,000 maternal deaths each year due to breast cancer. So with those important statistics in mind, there is no better time to support the breast feeding mothers in your life.
Employers should, where possible, provide a comfortable and private room for breastfeeding mothers to express in private.
