CAGAYAN DE ORO CITY (PIA)--By virtue of Republic Act (RA) 10028 or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009, the Department of Health (DOH)-10 alongside the National Nutrition Council (NNC)-10 leads this year’s National Breastfeeding Awareness Month to underscore the benefits and importance of breastfeeding amid the global health crisis.

“Ang ekslusibo nga breastfeeding sigo sa mga bata nga bago gipanganak hangtud sa unom ka bulan aron mahilayo kini sa malnutrisyon, ug paghimo ug isa ka bonding between sa mother and the child. Lakipan usab nato kini sa paghatag ug complementary feeding after six months sa masustansya, luwas, ug sigo sa bata na mga pagkaon,” said DOH-10 Regional Director Jose Llacuna Jr during this month’s Breastfeeding Awareness Month Talakayan sa PIA.

(Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for newborns up to six months to prevent them from malnutrition and create a bonding between mother and child. This should also include complementary feeding after six months of nutritious, safe, and appropriate food for the baby.

With the theme “Tulong-tulong sa Pagpapasuso sa First 1000 Days,” this year’s campaign aims to correct misconceptions about COVID-19 related concerns to breastfeeding while bolstering previous objectives of breaking breastfeeding stigma, rallying community support to childbearing women, and building a more progressive breastfeeding-friendly society.

Furthermore, NNC-10’s Nutritionist-Dietician Telesfora Madela explained the benefits of Lactational Amenorrhea Method (LAM) as a short-term birth control method in which a woman relies on exclusive breastfeeding.

Mothers and family members were also urged to be knowledgeable of the benefits of the ‘Unang Yakap’ protocol, a cost-effective newborn care intervention that fosters neonatal and maternal care.

“We are in the time of the pandemic, but we should always remember that breastfeeding should be given to the babies, the advocacy of breastfeeding is still persisting in the pandemic,” Llacuna said. (VPSB/PIA-10)