“The mother-friendly facilities are not limited to government hospitals but also are encouraged in private hospitals including workplaces especially that we also have the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009," said Te.
The Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 stipulates that workplaces should encourage, protect, and support the practice of breastfeeding and create an environment where the basic physical, emotional, and psychological needs of mothers and infants are fulfilled through the practice of rooming-in and breastfeeding.
Under the law, a workplace or employer must:
- Have a proper lactation space or station with needed equipment, such as comfortable chairs, a table, outlet for breast pump, lavatory for handwashing (unless there is a functional lavatory nearby), and refrigerator where mothers can store pumped breast milk.
- Provide nursing mothers additional breaks on top of the regular time-off to give them enough time to pump breast milk.
Te said that breastmilk is the only ideal food for infants and encourages exclusive breastfeeding for 6 months and adding complementary feeding with breastfeeding until the age of 2.
“Breastmilk is easily digested by babies, has antibodies, and has the right amount of nutrients which are very critical for infants, plus it also helps the mothers reduce their risk of cancer and helps in post-pregnancy weight loss," Te added.
The Breastfeeding Awareness Month aims to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding across the country as the normal, natural and preferred method of feeding infants and young children. (MYP/PIA7 Cebu)
