TSEK for Breastfeeding

Published by the Visayan Daily Star Publications, Inc.

NINFA R. LEONARDIA Editor-in-Chief & President

CARLA P. GOMEZ Editor GUILLERMO TEJIDA III Desk Editor PATRICK PANGILINAN Busines Editor NIDA A. BUENAFE Sports Editor RENE GENOVE Bureau Chief, Dumaguete MAJA P. DELY Advertising Coordinator

CARLOS ANTONIO L. LEONARDIA Administrative Officer

One can never go wrong if you practice healthy living and a stress-free lifestyle. You are, after all, the steward of your own body and the body is God's temple. Thus, as Dumaguete marks the culmination of the 37th Nutrition Month on the theme, “Isulong ang Breastfeeding – Tama, Sapat, at EKsklusibo,” some insights on the benefits of breast milk are worth pondering on.

The Philippines is one of the Asian countries with the highest birth rates, and it is very supportive of breastfeeding as it tries to fulfill the fourth and fifth of the eight Millennium Development Goals – to reduce child mortality and to improve health.

To date, 16 percent of women in the Philippines are breastfeeding their babies. However, the fact remains that $90 million is spent for powdered milk per year in the country. Endorsing and promoting breastfeeding, therefore, will save the country a lot of money and will even ensure a healthy citizenry.

A leading Dumaguete official had shared that his mother, now 76 years old, breastfed all her nine children and this must be the reason why he has been hospitalized only once. Moreover, considering the high cost of commodities nowadays, to save on your baby's nutritional expenses is good news. According to James P. Grant, former executive director of UNICEF, “Breastfeeding is a natural ‘safety net' against the worst effects of poverty, and gives the child a fairer start in life.”

Perhaps, one of the more apt, albeit humorous justification of breastfeeding was found in a wall décor in a hospital that says: “There are three reasons for breastfeeding – one, the milk is always at the right temperature; two, it comes in attractive containers; and, three, the cat can't get it.”*