Zubiri files bill to promote breastfeeding

In a bid to strengthen and promote breastfeeding, Sen. Juan Miguel Zubiri has filed a bill that will encourage and support breastfeeding initiatives in the communities and healthcare facilities as well as the workplace to make sure women breastfeed and continue to do so.

Zubiri said the 2008 National Nutrition Survey (NNS) showed that the rate of breastfeeding in the country has remained unchanged over the years at 34 percent despite efforts to promote it through the years.

He said breast milk is the best source of nutrition for the first six months of life. It provides the right amount of nutrients, vitamins, proteins and minerals to infant needs. It also contains antibodies to help infants and young children fight off common infections.

But Zubiri noted that the main reason why women stop breastfeeding or choose not to breastfeed is they have to return to work. This is because there is lack of support of breastfeeding in the workplace.

Zubiri said Senate Bill No. 2606 or the Breastfeeding Act of 2010 aims to address such concern by making sure that all companies set up lactation facilities in the offices to encourage women to continue breastfeeding their children even when they had returned to work.

“The National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS) in 2003 showed that 17 percent of mothers who chose not to breastfeed said it was because they were working or had returned to work. If we could address this, then we would be able to improve our breastfeeding rate,” he said.

Among the bill’s main proposals are to build for more lactation facilities in areas of employment, a move that will encourage more working women to continue breastfeeding their children after returning to work.

As an incentive, companies are entitled to tax deductions for the cost of setting up the lactation facilities in their respective offices.

The bill also provides that all pregnant women should be given all the information on the benefits of breastfeeding and how to maintain lactation. The bill also provides that women should be given information on proper infant and child nutrition.

Zubiri said because many women do not have access to information about appropriate child nutrition, many women end up giving unacceptable foodstuffs to their children. –Daily Tribune