Cuba to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week

In statements to the media, the Ministry of Public Health (MINSAP) and UNICEF’s Cuba Office announced that the island is joining the celebrations of World Breastfeeding Week, to be observed on August 1 to 7 by more than 170 countries.

Under the theme “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All”, the day will provide an opportunity to emphasize the value of breastfeeding for mothers as well as children as a very nutritional practice that strengthens the baby’s immune system, enhances their cognitive development, and favors the emotional bond between them.

UNICEF deputy representative Sunny Guidotti said that Cuba’s exclusive breastfeeding rate in the first six months of life s is 40.9%, a figure which the island will strive to increase to 70%.

“This campaign will pay tribute to breastfeeding mothers in all their diversity, promote respect for and autonomy of women and their right to breastfeed at any time and place, and highlight the need for family support”, she remarked.

On his end, Dr. Pablo Roque Peña, head of MINSAP’s Breastfeeding Commission, pointed out that Cuba relies on 14 human milk banks that collect, screen, process, classify, store and dispense by prescription breast milk and contribute to reduce neonatal morbidity and mortality.

He also referred to both the entry into force of Decree-Law 84, which extends to 15 months the provision of services granted to women on maternity leave and thus facilitates the continuity of breastfeeding, and the approval of a MINSAP resolution for the promotion, protection and encouragement of this practice, together with a food guide for pregnant women, infants and children up to 2 years of age.