World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF policy-makers in August 1990 to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

This year the theme is ‘Breastfeeding: Just 10 steps – the Baby-Friendly Way‘ which recognizes the vital role that health care facilities play in the establishment of breastfeeding. The joint WHO/UNICEF statement outlines the Ten Steps as follows:

10 Steps to Successful Breastfeeding

Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff
2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy
3. Inform all pregnant women about the benefits and management of breastfeeding
4. Place babies in skin-to-skin contact with their mothers immediately following birth for at least an hour and encourage mothers to recognise when their babies are ready to breastfeed, offering help if needed.
5. Show mothers how to breastfeed and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants
6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk, unless medically indicated
7. Practise rooming-in, allow mothers and infants to remain together 24 hours a day
8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand
9. Give no artificial teats or dummies to breastfeeding infants
10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support and refer mothers on discharge from the facility.

www.worldbreastfeedingweek.org