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POST-PRESS: PHL Breastfeeding Rates, Getting Stronger

THE FOOD AND Nutrition Research Institute of the Department of Science and Technology (FNRI-DOST) reported that exclusive feeding have gone up from 36 percent in 2008 to 47 percent in 2011. Exclusive feeding is the practice of feeding infants with only breast milk for the first six months of life to achieve optimal growth, development and health. This means giving no other food or drink--not even water--other than breast milk.

The initiation breastfeeding done within one hour of delivery has increased from 32 percent to 52 percent in the same four-year period.

The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) lauded the accomplishment, and attributed it to Executive Order 51, or the Milk Code of the Philippines, that late president Corazon Aquino signed into law in 1986. This law requires giving women clear information on the benefits of breastfeeding without undue influence from infant formula companies.

Sources
WHO: "Up to what age can a baby stay well nourished by just being breastfed? World Health Organization (Accessed 06242012) [Read article]
Cave, Janice M: "UN agencies hail Philippines' remarkable rise in breastfeeding rates," InterAksyon.com 2 August 2012 [Read full report]
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