Experts have called for schools to teach children about breastfeeding from an early age, to tackle the stigma surrounding public nursing.
The recommendation was made this week, by the Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health (RCPCH).
In a report launched to coincide with World Breastfeeding Week, which falls this week, experts linked low breastfeeding rates with social stigma. And that social stigma, they reckon, comes right back to a lack of education.
Now, RCPCH is recommending that breastfeeding forms an important part of primary school education.
Professor Neena Modi, the President of the RCPCH, encouraged schools to promote ‘familiarity with breastfeeding’.
Specifically, the college wants educators to instil the benefits of breastfeeding not only for mums and babies, but also for the family – with a particular focus on cost savings.
Another paper released this week is also calling for employers to establish breastfeeding breaks as well as nursing and expressing facilities in all workplaces.
“The health benefits of breastfeeding are beyond question, from reduced likelihood of intestinal, respiratory and ear infections to hospitalisation,” the paper reads.
“Regrettably, the attitudes of a large part of society mean breastfeeding is not always encouraged; local support is patchy, advice is not always consistent and often overly dogmatic.
“Support in the workplace is not always conducive to continued breastfeeding; and, perhaps most worryingly, breastfeeding in public is still often stigmatised.”
These recommendations are accompanied by new suggested guidelines that mothers should nurse exclusively for at least the first six months of their baby’s life.
The RCPCH’s suggestions tie in nicely with the theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week, which is ‘Sustaining Breastfeeding Together’.
In a statement released today, the World Health Organisation’s Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, emphasised the importance of community.
“All of us – governments, decision-makers, development partners, professional bodies, academia, media, advocates, and other stakeholders – must work together to strengthen existing partnerships and forge new ways to invest in and support breastfeeding for a more sustainable future,” he wrote.
“Breastfeeding is not a one-woman job,” he added, stating that mothers need as much help as they can get, both from their heathcare providers and their community.
What are your thoughts, mums? Do you think children should be learning about breastfeeding in school? Let us know!
