The initiative, which has been held jointly with the General Directorate of Public Health and Assistance Programs of the SCS, addresses the areas of greatest vulnerability and inequality faced by mothers and babies and the opportunities to overcome them.
The General Directorate of Public Health of the SCS, in addition, coinciding with the European Breastfeeding Week, launches a dissemination campaign with the aim of raising awareness in society about the benefits of breastfeeding and the need for its protection and promotion.
The General Directorate of Public Health of the Canary Islands Health Service (SCS) and the Breastfeeding Commissions of the SCS on the island of Tenerife, corresponding to the Canary Islands University Hospital Complex (HUC), the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria University Hospital and the Management of Primary Care of the Health Area of Tenerife, in collaboration with the General Directorate of Assistance Programs of the SCS, held a commemorative event this morning for the European Breastfeeding Week.
This is a day held at the El Tranvía Citizen Center, aimed at health professionals and mothers and families who are users, where the areas of greatest vulnerability and inequality faced by mothers and babies in our environment have been addressed, and the opportunities to overcome them in three round tables in which professionals from the three health departments and mothers participated.
Its inauguration was attended by the general director of Public Health, José Díaz-Flores, the manager of the HUC, Adasat Goya, the deputy medical director of the La Candelaria Hospital, Mar Martín, and the director and deputy director of Nursing of the Primary Care Management of Tenerife, Nayra García and Concepción Santiago, respectively.
The campaign that the World Alliance for Breastfeeding launches for this year’s World and European Breastfeeding Week 2024, has the motto Closing the Gap: Supporting Breastfeeding in all situations to commemorate this day. On the occasion of this Week, actions are organized around the world in order to inform, strengthen, commit and promote action in favor of breastfeeding.
Today, the vast majority of women choose to breastfeed. However, few can do so for as long as they wish, and the more vulnerable women are, the less likely they are to achieve their breastfeeding goals. This inequality, which restricts the right of women to breastfeed their daughters and sons as and when they decide, is clearly linked to structural, organizational, interpersonal and community determinants that affect infant feeding options.
For all these reasons, the General Directorate of Public Health of the SCS and the Breastfeeding Commissions of all the islands have collaborated in holding various activities to disseminate the benefits of breastfeeding, both for mothers and for the healthy development of their babies.
Program
During the day, the challenges presented by caring for premature babies and their families were discussed, as well as the opportunities that the health system offers for them, including the Donated Human Milk Bank.
The importance of optimizing hospital care in the first hours and days of life was also addressed, avoiding unnecessary separations of the mother-baby dyad, as well as the implementation of the Initiative for the Humanization of Birth and Breastfeeding Care (BFHI). for improving the quality of care, and the crucial importance of support groups for mothers in Primary Care. Finally, visibility was given to the mental health of mothers and their special needs during the postpartum period.
Breastfeeding promotion campaign
The Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands, through the General Directorate of Public Health of the SCS, joins for another year the commemoration of the European Breastfeeding Week with the aim of raising awareness in society about the benefits of breastfeeding. breastfeeding and the need for its protection and promotion.
To this end, it has developed an informative campaign, which has been prepared by the General Directorate of Public Health in collaboration with the General Directorate of Assistance Programs and all the Breastfeeding Commissions of the Canary Islands, and which is included within the Breastfeeding Prevention Plan. Childhood Obesity for children under 12 years of age in the Canary Islands (POICAN) as one of the strategic lines.
To spread these messages, the General Directorate of Public Health is launching a dissemination campaign through the social networks of CanariasSaludable in which the benefits of breastfeeding and advice on how to carry it out are recalled.
Breastfeeding is the best food for newborns, as it not only covers their nutritional needs for adequate growth and physical development, but also strengthens the emotional bond between mother and baby, ensuring a secure attachment relationship that is crucial for their development as independent and confident people. Therefore, breastfeeding is the recommended reference method for feeding infants and young children.
Breast milk, a living food adapted to the specific needs of each baby, offers essential nutrients and unique protection against diseases. The scientific support for the benefits of breastfeeding is overwhelming, both for babies and mothers.