2023-08-05 23:15:42
Worldwide there are more than 500 million workers who lack facilities in work environments to breastfeed their babies during their first months of life.
The Federal Labor Law establishes that the duration of maternity leave in Mexico is 12 weeks.
Currently, the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Mexico is 34%, but now it aspires to reach 70% by 2030.
with the motto “Facilitate breastfeeding by making a difference for working mothers and fathers” the 2023 Inter-Institutional Breastfeeding Day was held. In this case, the general director of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), Eduardo Lazcano Ponce, recalled that international health organizations have emphasized that women should not have to choose between breastfeeding their daughters and sons or working.
Current global outlook
He also mentioned that the Breastfeeding it improves the health of girls and boys but also that of women. The problem is that more than 500 million workers in the world lack maternity facilities in the first months of the baby’s lifeand still others have no support when they return to working life.
For this reason, and to advance in the achievement of the objectives in terms of Breastfeedingit is necessary to combine family and work life, having as a premise the protection of maternity and paternity, in order to favor optimal practices.
In this sense, family-oriented policies are important to promote gender equality both in the labor market and in the domestic sphere.
The director of the INSP Nutrition and Health Research Center (CINyS)Simón Barquera Cervera, maintained that the promotion of Breastfeeding It has a positive impact on combating the problem of malnutrition and helps prevent the development of chronic diseases.
He added that despite the unquestionable progress that has been made in this area, it is not enough to achieve the goal established for 2030. It is sought that at least 70 percent of mothers with daughters and sons between zero and six months can practice exclusive breastfeeding in optimal conditions.
He clarified that the exclusive breastfeeding It consists of the baby receiving only breast milk and no other solid or liquid food, with the exception of rehydration solutions, vitamins, minerals or medicines during the first six months of life. Therefore, she concluded, it is necessary to redouble efforts in terms of legislation so that working mothers, both in the formal and informal sectors, can breastfeed.
He emphasized that, in order to have better health, nutritional status and economic development, it is essential to support the BreastfeedingTherefore, the CINyS of the INSP is committed to promoting the necessary actions to achieve an adequate practice without the interference of the industry, without conflict of interest in the professionals and without the participation of corporations.
The director of Research in Nutrition Policies and Programs of the CINyS, Anabelle Bonvecchio Arenas, indicated that breastfeeding is one of the best investments to save lives, improve health in the short and long term, and increase the social and economic development of people. and the nations.
Main challenges faced by women who become mothers
However, she noted that women face a number of significant challenges and barriers to breastfeeding their babies: inadequate hospital and health care practices and policies; lack of knowledge and qualified support; insufficient or absent maternity leave in the informal market; and the strong penetration and aggressive marketing of breast milk substitutes.
Regarding the legal framework on the practice of breastfeeding, the Unicef Mexico Health officer, Fernanda Cobo Armijo, drew attention to some legislative tasks that are pending in our country: advancing in the standardization of criteria for the transfer of weeks between the private employer and the State in relation to maternity leave, as well as guaranteeing that the law contemplates the installation of adequate spaces for the practice of breastfeeding.
Fernanda Cobo also included the need to clarify in the law what is related to breastfeeding support, paying special attention that it is not about substitutes or formulas. It is necessary to review the criteria for the issuance of paternity leave between private and public employers, and of course to reflect the result of this review in the law, as well as include mechanisms that guarantee obtaining a pregnancy certificate, because the bureaucracy involved in the Obtaining this document constitutes, today, an obstacle to access to perinatal health protection.
Also read:
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70 out of 100 Mexican babies do not receive breast milk during their first months of life
Breastfeeding: Benefits for mothers, babies, hospitals and the environment
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