CITY OF MANILA, 5 May 2006 – Almost 3,800 mothers gathered yesterday at the San Andres Sports and Civic Center in Malate, Manila to simultaneously breastfeed their children in an attempt to break the standing Guinness World Record of 1,135 mothers simultaneously breastfeeding. The result of 3,783 mothers will be submitted to Guinness for evaluation. The number in Manila is almost 400 per cent higher than the participants of previous record-holder, the City of Berkeley, California. Berkeley conducted the event on August 3, 2002 at the Berkeley Community Theater.   

The City of Manila and Children for Breastfeeding (CFB) led in organizing the event with other organization-partners to revive the breastfeeding culture in the country.

The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) lauds the collective efforts of the city, CFB, the Department of Health (DOH) and Nurturers of the Earth. UNICEF congratulates the breastfeeding mothers of Manila for their active participation. Mayor Lito Atienza took on the challenge of hosting the event in the city during the World Breastfeeding Week Celebration last year. The attempt to break the Guinness World Record sends a clear message to all mothers and stakeholders.   

“Breastfed infants definitely have the best start in life. Human breastmilk has all the nutrients that a newborn infant needs. It also provides antibodies to protect the baby from diseases. Breastfed children, therefore, are less likely to suffer from diarrhoea which can lead to death,” Dr. Nicholas K. Alipui, UNICEF Country Representative, said.

A formula-fed infant is 25 times more likely to die of diarrhoea vis-à-vis a breastfed infant. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 16,000 child deaths can be attributed to formula-feeding.

UNICEF advocates optimal breastfeeding or the exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of the child’s life, and complementary feeding after six months up to two years and beyond.  Optimal breastfeeding underscores the child’s rights to survival, development and protection.

On a national scale, Dr. Alipui added, breastfeeding can help curb malnutrition in children under two years old, and also boost the country’s economy. “The first two years of a child’s life make them most vulnerable to diseases and mortality. Breastfeeding is the single, best form of nutrition during this period. Moreover, breastfeeding does not entail any costs. A family that buys formula milk for their child allocates an average P2,000 a month on imported milk products with an aggregate value of P20.5 billion in milk imports a year.”

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For further information or to arrange interviews, please contact:

Dale Rutstein
UNICEF Manila, 901 0177 or 0917 866 4969, drutstein@unicef.org
Alexis Rodrigo
UNICEF Manila, 901 0173 or 0917 858 9447, arodrigo@unicef.org