Say Yes, February 2002: Mother’s Milk

Breastfeeding is an unequalled way of providing ideal food for the newborn baby’s healthy growth and development. Fewer breastfed infants suffer respiratory infections, ear infections and allergies and it would appear that breastfeeding fosters brain development. The occurrence of breast, ovarian and cervical cancers is significantly lower among mothers who breastfeed.

So, if breastfeeding is good for the baby and the mother, why aren’t more mothers doing it?

The answer to that question is due in part to a lack of information and support but the phenomenon of giving birth in hospital in preference to the home, coupled with the mass production of breast milk substitutes, is more likely to be the cause of the world wide decline in breastfeeding. Health services have contributed, albeit unwittingly, by introducing procedures which interfere with the establishment of normal breastfeeding routines.

UNICEF Turkey aims to reverse the decline in breastfeeding by supporting services and an education programme especially for new mothers along with a complementary training programme for healthcare professionals.

In 1991, the Ministry of Health (MOH) together with WHO and UNICEF launched the Baby-friendly Hospitals Initiative (BFHI) at the meeting of the International Paediatric Association in Ankara. The BFHI is a global network which aims to give every baby the best possible start in life through the creation of a healthcare environment where breastfeeding is the norm, thus helping to reduce the levels of infant morbidity and infant mortality world wide.

BFHI hospitals follow a simple plan for the promotion of breastfeeding: every facility which provides maternity services and care for the newborn is encouraged to follow the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding.

So far, the evaluation committee of sixty-five members from all over Turkey has identified one hundred and sixteen hospitals which merit the BFHI award. Ten of those hospitals were admitted to the initiative in 2001.

UNICEF aims to create an environment which totally supports breastfeeding mothers and, ultimately, to increase the rate of breastfeeding throughout Turkey. The rate of initial breastfeeding currently stands at 95%, yet both rural and urban mothers introduce supplements to breast milk in the early months. Rural mothers, generally reliant on traditional practices and the advice of elders, do so because it is widely believed that breastfeeding alone is not sufficient to meet the needs of a newborn infant. Working mothers in urban areas often introduce supplements to reduce the duration of breastfeeding because they cannot find the time to breastfeed. That said, failure to introduce supplementary foods at the right time can lead to malnutrition.

World Breastfeeding Day was observed in Turkey in 2001 and provincial health directors and local and national staff from the MOH participated. Various events were covered by the national media and a public information campaign is to be launched by Saatchi & Saatchi in 2002. The involvement of a high-profile company in the planning and execution of the campaign is an excellent example of private sector participation which UNICEF is keen to promote.

In a modest, inexpensive and practical way, the promotion of breastfeeding will improve standards of nutrition, growth and mental development in generations of Turkish children to come.

Read the factsheet on exclusive breastfeeding. There is more information about the campaign to promote exclusive breastfeeding in our Programmes section.

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Oniki Dev Adam! -- The Turkish National Basketball Team, are saying ‘Yes’ for children by unfurling the Say Yes for Children banner during the 2001 European Basketball Championships. During the Presidential Cup, two teams opened Say Yes for Children banners before the media.