Still best for babies

Last week we celebrated the National Breastfeeding Week, with the call for chucking the feeding bottle in favor of breastfeeding for babies.

According to United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the lack of breastfeeding is responsible for 16,000 child deaths in the Philippines every year. It also contributes to malnutrition. Formula-feeding makes children more vulnerable to a long list of diseases, including those that will appear in adulthood, such as diabetes.

In 1992, I authored in the Senate the Breastfeeding Law. At the time, people would wonder what my huge concern was for the passage of this bill - I am neither a woman nor a mother. But when one looks at the consequences of the lack of breastfeeding in the country, we would know why it is such an important matter - not only to a mother, but to the health of our nation.

Only 15 percent of mothers in the Philippines practice exclusive breastfeeding. In Manila, a mere 40% of mothers breastfeed. Meanwhile, the average duration of exclusive breastfeeding in the Philippines went down from 1.4 months in 1998 to a mere 24 days in 2003 - a far cry from the recommended six months.

Annually, Filipinos import about half a billion dollars worth of milk and dairy products, about a third of which consists of infant milk. But we also spend another 3.5 billion pesos for the treatment of infant malnutrition and diarrhea. The lack of breastfeeding has increased the rate of diarrhea due to unclean bottles and unsanitary practices.

There is no dispute at all as to which is the better food for an infant: it's human milk. There is no substitute for it. Breastfed people turn out to be brighter, and that's not just speculation - it's scientific. Breastfeeding is nature's first immunization, the first preventive health measure that can be given to the child at birth.

Breastfeeding has distinct advantages which benefit the infant and the mother, including the hospital and the country that adopts its practice. By promoting it, we protect both the right of the mother to breastfeed and the right of the child to good health.