UNICEF: Only 34% of Filipino mothers breastfeed babies

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) said only 34 percent of Filipino mothers practice exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of their babies. At a press conference on Thursday, UNICEF Philippines communication head Angela Travis said nearly half of all mothers in the country depend on artificial milk or formula in varying degrees. Citing a study conducted in the Philippines, Travis said the number of women who "exclusively breastfed" or gave only breast milk to their babies, went up after receiving support from their families and local health units. Almost 70 percent of the women who received regular visits from community health workers decided to breastfeed their baby, she noted. "The support of the community is really important," Travis said. "This is why in the Philippines, UNICEF is working with the (Department of Health) and with hospitals and birthing centers to make sure that they support mothers to breastfeed." Working mothers Travis said UNICEF is working with the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE) to help working mothers continue breastfeeding even when they return to work. "Maternity leaves in this country only last for about two to three months after giving birth. So the challenge is, breastfeeding drops when women go back to work," she said. "We're working with (DOLE) so that there's support in the workplace for women in the workplace, so that they are allowed to express milk when they need to, and that there's an area where they can do so," she added. Husbands' role in breastfeeding Meanwhile, the breastfeeding advocacy group "Beauty, Brains & Breastfeeding" (BBB) said the support from husbands and other members of the household make breastfeeding easier for women. Sportscaster Patricia Bermudez-Hizon, a breastfeeding advocate of BBB, said her husband's mere presence was key in successfully breastfeeding her two children, now aged four and six. Her husband, basketball player Vince Hizon, would stay up late even after exhausting basketball practice to take care of the baby and let her rest, she said. Vince also helps her during breastfeeding by placing pillows behind her back and even carrying the baby for her to make the process more comfortable. More than the actual process, Patricia said it helped that her husband was just as committed as she was in the decision to breastfeed their baby. "He understands that it's easier for happy moms to breastfeed, so he takes care of me and makes me happy," she said. "He makes sure I drink water and keep hydrated, and that I eat healthy food." Meanwhile, TV personality Daphne Oseña-Paez said it helped that her house staff and colleagues understood that she had to breastfeed, which was why she managed to breastfeed her children for at least 12 months even with her tight schedule. "Even during shoots, they knew that I would need time to express my milk. The staff at home knew how to store the milk that I pumped," she said. "I could not have done it without the help of people around me." 'Breastfeeding should be aspirational' BBB executive director Iza Abeja said their breastfeeding advocacy group aims to make breastfeeding "aspirational," so that mothers who want their children to grow up healthy and smart would want to breastfeed to make this happen. "Mothers now see ads of baby formulas and say, 'oh I want my child to drink that milk so she becomes smart like that kid in the commercial.' But they have to realize that breastfeeding makes your baby smart and great, even more so. So we want to put an aspirational aspect on breastfeeding," she said. On Friday, the group will roll down billboards in Metro Manila thoroughfares to promote breastfeeding as a choice for "smart, glamorous and hard-working" women. However, Abeja said the group wants to reach not only working mothers but also mothers who are less-fortunate and can hardly afford food, let alone formula for their baby. "It's actually interesting to note that it's the poor mothers who think that breastfeeding is a 'last option,' that if they can't afford formula, they have to resort to breastfeeding," she said. "They think that if their baby is breastfed, the baby is 'deprived'." "It's really a lack of proper information on their part," Abeja said. "We hope that through our campaign, mothers learn that breastfeeding is the best thing they can do for their baby." - VVP, GMA News