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World Breastfeeding Week

FACTS FOR LIFE: BREASTMILK – THE ONLY FOOD A BABY NEEDS FIRST SIX MONTHS

World Breastfeeding Week August 1-7, 2011

PODGORICA, July 30, 2011 – On the occasion of the World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7), the Ministry of Health and UNICEF will distribute copies of the forth edition of Facts for Life, a co-publication of UNICEF and 7 UN agencies, to all maternity wards, schools for antenatal education, health centres and preschools in Montenegro. Some15 million copies of previous three editions of Facts for life are in circulation worldwide in 215 languages empowering families and communities with life-saving knowledge about children since 1989.
The dissemination of the Facts for Life by the Ministry of Health and UNICEF is directly linked to the theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week: “Talk to Me: Breastfeeding a 3D experience.” The celebration of the World Breastfeeding Week focuses on the significance of communication as a process of spreading information about the importance of breastfeeding that contributes to raising the percentage of mothers who exclusively breastfeed their babies during the first six months. According to the organizers of the World Breastfeeding Week, time and place are the first two, while communication is the third dimension of breastfeeding support.

“All mothers should start breastfeeding in the maternity ward within one hour of birth and they should exclusively breastfeed their babies during the first six months.” says the Minister of Health Miodrag Radunovic. “By disseminating the Facts for Life all over the country, we will provide reliable and effective answers to the most common questions and dilemmas about children to all who take care of them and, in particular, to families, health workers and teachers.”

Based on the key messages from the Facts for Life, the Ministry of Health and UNICEF produced educational promotional material consisting of four short movies and 14 leaflets for ante-natal education of parents last year. Dissemination of the Montenegrin translation of Facts for Life builds on these efforts to enable all parents in Montenegro to easily access reliable information on key issues related to early childhood development and parenting.

“Facts for Life contains the latest scientific knowledge and evidence-based answers to questions on pregnancy, childbirth, breastfeeding and nutrition, childhood illnesses, child development, parenting, protection, care and support of children. It is written in clear, easy-to-understand language, so that it can be effectively used by anyone.” says UNICEF Communication Officer Jelena Perovic.

World Breastfeeding Week was first celebrated in 1992 and is now observed in over 120 countries by UNICEF and its partners, including the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and the World Health Organization. The aim is to promote exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life which yields tremendous health benefits, providing critical nutrients, protection from deadly diseases such as pneumonia and fostering growth and development. Continued breastfeeding after six months, for up to two years of age or beyond, combined with safe and appropriate complementary feeding, is the optimal approach to child feeding.

Breastfeeding movie

Wordl Breastfeeding TV spot

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