Why family-friendly policies are critical to increasing breastfeeding rates worldwide - Unicef

NEW YORK , 1 August 2019 – From supporting healthy brain development in babies and young children, protecting infants against infection, decreasing the risk of obesity and disease, reducing healthcare costs, and protecting nursing mothers against ovarian cancer and breast cancer, the benefits of breastfeeding for children and mothers are wide spread. Yet, policies that support breastfeeding – such as paid parental leave and breastfeeding breaks – are not yet available to most mothers worldwide.

“The health, social and economic benefits of breastfeeding – for mother and child – are well-established and accepted throughout the world. Yet, nearly 60 per cent of the world’s infants are missing out on the recommended six months of exclusive breastfeeding,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore. “In spite of the benefits of breastfeeding, workplaces worldwide are denying mothers much needed support. We need to far greater investment in paid parental leave and breastfeeding support across all workplaces to increase breastfeeding rates globally.”

World Breastfeeding Week is marked annually from 1 to 7 August to highlight the critical importance of breastfeeding for children across the globe. Breastfeeding gives children the healthiest start in life and is one of the simplest, smartest and most cost-effective ways we have of ensuring that all children survive and thrive. This fact sheet – marking World Breastfeeding Week – features new data from the 2019 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard, and the latest available evidence on coverage, access to family-friendly policies, and the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding.

[1] UNICEF IYCF Global Databases, May 2019 ; 2019 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard ; http://www.fao.org/3/ca5162en/ca5162en.pdf

[2] UNICEF IYCF Global Databases, May 2019 ; 2019 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard ; http://www.fao.org/3/ca5162en/ca5162en.pdf

[3] UNICEF breastfeeding policy brief, July 2019 ; ILO, World Social Protection Report 2017-19: Universal Social Protection to Achieve the Sustainable Development Goals [Executive summary], November 2017

[4] 2019 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard ; UNICEF policy brief on family-friendly policies

[5] UNICEF breastfeeding policy brief, July 2019 ; Navarro-Rosenblatt, et al, ‘Maternity Land its Impact on Breastfeeding: A review of the literature’, Breastfeeding Medicine, vol. 13, no. 9, November 2018, pp.589–597

[6] 2019 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard ; Victora CG, Bahl R, Barros AJ, França GV, Horton S, Krasevec J, Murch S, Sankar MJ, Walker N, Rollins NC, Group TL. Breastfeeding in the 21st century: epidemiology, mechanisms, and lifelong effect. The Lancet. 2016;387(10017):475-90

[7] 2019 Global Breastfeeding Scorecard ; https://data.unicef.org/resources/first-hour-life-new-report-breastfeeding-practices/

[8] UNICEF breastfeeding policy brief, July 2019 ; Rollins, Nigel, et al., ‘Why Invest, and What it Will Take to Improve Breastfeeding Practices?’, The Lancet, vol. 387, no. 10017, January 2016, pp.49). Countries’ investment towards improving breastfeeding practices would result in US $35 of economic return per dollar invested.

UNICEF works in some of the world’s toughest places, to reach the world’s most disadvantaged children. Across more than 190 countries and territories, we work for every child, everywhere, to build a better world for everyone.

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