Castelli Romani – Traveling campaign for breastfeeding starts tomorrow’maternal breastfeeding
Starts on September 6, 2015 and will last until May 8, 2016, the traveling campaign Breastfeeding: the safer way organized by the associations La Goccia Magica, Chiara per i Bambini del Mondo ONLUS, Città delle Mamme Frascati, with the collaboration of the partners Human Rights in Childbirth in Italy and CreAttivamenteOstetriche, the patronage of the Municipality of Genzano di Roma and the Lazio Region, and the support of the Lazio Volunteer Service Centers SPES and CESV. A camper, which will leave from the headquarters of La Goccia Magica in Viale Vittorio Veneto 3 in Genzano, will travel through the territory of the Castelli Romani (Genzano, Frascati, Albano Laziale, Marino, Velletri) and the Litoral area (Latina and Pomezia) stopping at major meeting points to offer information on pregnancy, childbirth and breastfeeding, in order to promote and support the latter fundamental practice. Midwives and volunteers will be available to families to allay doubts, give support and gather experiences, creating spaces for sharing among peers.
According to WHO (World Health Organization) and UNICEF recommendations, one should exclusively breastfeed without the addition of formula milk, water, herbal teas, chamomile tea, fruit or baby food, up to 6 months since breast milk alone and in a balanced manner satisfies all the nutritional needs of the child. Afterwards, for greater nutritional needs, weaning can be started while still accompanying breast milk up to the age of one year and continuing up to two years and beyond, of course if mother child so desires. In 1990, WHO and UNICEF launched a worldwide campaign to promote breastfeeding, aimed at reversing the trend in the use of breastmilk substitutes and supporting all efforts aimed at proper infant nutrition.
In 1992, the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative – BFHI (Italian: Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative) was born, aimed at encouraging good practices for the promotion of maternal breastfeeding, followed by the 7 Steps Baby Friendly Community Initiative. In Italy, hospital facilities recognized as “Baby Friendly Hospitals,” are still not as widespread as they should be. Recognized “Baby Friendly Hospitals” cover, in fact, less than 4 percent of birth centers nationwide. Despite the numerous national projects (such as “Parents Plus” and “Gaining Health”), and although the indication to breastfeed is also included in the National Health Plan and the National Prevention Plan and many regions, including Lazio, have included breastfeeding in the priority objectives of their health policy, there is still no shared protocol of behavior among hospitals.
The purpose of this itinerant campaign is, therefore, both to give active support to citizenship, especially to mothers, and to raise awareness of the relevant institutions and to strengthen and support the initiatives already undertaken by the ASL Roma H Breastfeeding Commission, which for more than 10 years has been working to achieve the goals set by UNICEF, with the hope that ASL RMH itself will soon receive recognition as a Child Friendly Community.
The campaign will end on May 8, 2016, on Mother’s Day, in Genzano where, in addition to the usual support activities, there will be a marathon of women’s stories about childbirth and breastfeeding with audiovisual aids and a small live concert, to share the full meaning of the word “mother”.
