And now, a breastfeeding room in a mall
March 14, 2006 | 12:00am
You and I know how hard it is for mothers when they bring their little, not-yet-potty-trained children to the mall. Harder still for breastfeeding mommies and their little bundles of joy (who turn into bundles of frustration when they start clamoring for their food).
Well, here’s just about the breast news to hit town: Today, March 14, SM Megamall is opening is first-ever Breastfeeding Room, 1 to 6 p.m. at the atrium, upper ground floor, Building A.
Gracing this event that’s bound to turn into a Mothers’ Day are Annie Garcia, VP for operations of SM Supermalls; Dr. Elvira Henares-Esguerra, co-director, Children for Breastfeeding Inc., Jamie Rivera; and Dr. Nicholas Alipui, UNICEF country representative.
The Breastfeeding Room was born out of a need for a proper venue for breastfeeding mothers, who are usually relegated to the comfort rooms that hardly provide comfort when their babies require nourishment. (Of course, you know that breastmilk is still the best as it protects against many diseases, is germ-free, easily digestible, and readily available.) Based on this finding, the Children for Breastfeeding Inc. forged a marriage with SM Megamall and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) to open the first-ever breastfeeding room in a mall. A staunch advocate of breastfeeding, Unicef is committed to help governments and other sectors of society adopt favorable policies that protect, promote, and support breastfeeding.
The first-ever to become a breastfeeding- friendly mall, SM Megamall welcomes breastfeeding mothers to all areas of the mall. It has likewise trained its staff to better accommodate breastfeeding moms in the mall. Now, mommies have more breast friends to count on.
Although listed as a punishable offense under Section 48 of the Republic Act 9003 or the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act of 2000, the open burning of waste goes on unabated.
Of the thousand-and-one toxic chemicals released from waste burning, plus the burning of dumpsites, dioxin is the major health concern. Described as the most toxic substance known to science, dioxin, a potent human carcinogen, has the capability to cause a range of adverse health effects in animals and people.
The Ecological Waste Coalition gives us the hot facts: The Stockholm Convention, which the Philippines ratified in February 2004, aims to ultimately eliminate Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) to protect human health and the environment. The global treaty initially targets 12 POPs for priority action, including cancer-causing dioxins.
Other pollutants in the resulting smoke, soot, and ash from open burning include volatile organic compounds, particulate matters, halogenated hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and heavy metals such as arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, lead, and mercury.
The Coalition cites four reasons why open burning is unhealthy, unneighborly, and unnecessary:
• Open burning damages health. Every time waste is burned, harmful pollutants are released into the air and the remaining ash contains toxic residue. Inhaling or ingesting toxins from open burning will have serious health implications. Short-term exposure can cause eye, nose, throat, and skin irritations, lung congestion, shortness of breathing, and coughing.
Long-term exposure can increase the risk of cancer, heart disease, respiratory ailments, reproductive disorders, and developmental problems.
• Open burning trashes the environment. Burning destroys valuable resources such as paper, cardboard, organics, and other materials, which could have been reused or recycled into nature or commerce.
Factories produce heaps of waste when making new products. It makes a lot of sense to reuse and recycle more to conserve our diminishing resources, save precious energy, and reduce pollution. Also, polluting human activities, including the clearing and burning of vegetation, are increasing the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, which is causing global climate change.
• Open burning contaminates the food supply. Chemicals released when discards are burned, particularly the notoriously toxic dioxins, are also deposited on leafy plants that are eaten by livestock. Dioxin builds up in animal fat and is passed through meat and dairy products to humans. In the food chain, dioxins can escalate to levels that are harmful to human health.
• Open burning causes fires. Especially during the summer period, open burning can cause residential, forest, and brush fires, endangering the life and health of humans and animals.
Thus, the Ecowaste Coalition urges the public to consider the following ecological alternatives to open burning:
• Shop wisely, consume responsibly, and reduce your waste size.
• Refuse single-use plastic bags, go for reusable containers.
• Demand less wrapping on products you buy.
• Choose recyclable products and containers, and recycle them.
• Avoid buying disposable items; buy durable and repairable products instead.
• Select products from recycled materials.
• Use second-hand, repaired, and recycled products whenever available.
• Go for non-toxic substitutes, which are safer to use, store, and recycle.
• Segregate, don’t mix your discards; reuse, and recycle things.
• Repair rather than throw or replace broken things.
• Give away unwanted stuff to neighbors or charities.
• Turn your biodegradable waste into compost to nourish the earth.
For more information, call the Ecowaste Coalition at 929-0376.
Certainly, there’s a wealth of wisdom in the adage "Waste not, want not."
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