Breastfeeding is beautiful

MANILA, Philippines - The Greek legend of the Milky Way talks about how milk spurted from the breasts of Hera, the Queen of Heaven to form the galaxy.  The tale continues, “And where drops fell to the earth, lilies sprung forth.” Likewise, there is the myth where Zeus put his infant son Hercules to suckle at the breasts of his sleeping wife, thereby imbuing in the child the strength and indestructibility of an immortal.

But the potency of breast milk is not confined to legend alone. As the best source of nutrition for babies, it has been proven many times over that breast milk has components that help protect the child against infection and disease. Why, then, is the practice of breastfeeding not as extensive? Statistics indicate that only 34 percent of mothers in the Philippines practice exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months of their babies’ lives. Moreover, data from the UNICEF reveals that “nearly half of all mothers in the country depend on milk in varying degrees.”

“There is that perception in this country that breastfeeding is for the poor,” rues Iza Abeja. This is the reason why she has taken on the role of founder and head of Beauty, Brains & Breastfeeding, Inc. (BBB), a “silence-breaking organization” that advocates breastfeeding. “In more depressed areas, women are embarrassed that they breastfeed. There is that social stigma that they are too poor to be able to afford infant formula.”

Add to that, the phenomenon of well-known media personalities actively endorsing milk formulas in commercials, and you will have a slew of misinformed women who will stop breastfeeding in favor of store-bought milk. The bad thing about this is that figures gathered by UNICEF indicate that nine out of 10 children five years and under who die are not breastfed; 1.2 million diarrhea and pneumonia cases are due to poor breastfeeding practices; and 3.5 million under-five deaths are due to poor breastfeeding practices. There are cases where, unable to afford infant formula, substitutes of thin, watered-down evaporated milk or even coffee creamer dissolved in water are given to infants instead.

“In my work with UNICEF, I’ve seen a skeletal seven-month-old child in Maguindanao who was the size of a two-week old after contracting diarrhea from dirty water used to prepare formula,” relates celebrity and breastfeeding advocate Daphne Osena-Paez. “I tell mothers that breastfeeding is a life-saving mechanism. It is easy, free, and natural. It is the one single intervention that can save a baby’s life from 0-6 months.”

Media personality and Maynilad head for advocacy and marketing Patricia Bermudez-Hizon agrees that breast milk is the safest. “When we go to areas where Maynilad does not operate, we see women scooping up dirty water to boil for infant formula,” she says. “But apart from being unable to remove impurities, sometimes the water isn’t boiled long enough. You have to remember that sometimes a lot of people (in these areas) would rather have cellphones than toilets.”

And thus, the three women have banded together to be the faces of Beauty, Brains and Breastfeeding. As an initial project, a total of five billboards will be placed throughout Metro Manila — three along MIA Road in Pasay City; one in Philcoa, Quezon City and one on the DILG Building in EDSA. “When you make a campaign like this, breastfeeding becomes aspirational,” explains Iza.

What makes campaigning for breastfeeding even more difficult is that celebrities with children get many tempting offers from milk companies to endorse their brands. And thus, it takes a firm belief in breastfeeding not to succumb to the temptation of lucrative endorsements. Daphne admits, “This is a very interesting campaign because we are up against other ad campaigns.” 

“Celebrities are influencers so it can be a difficult choice,” concurs Patricia. “But we can ask celebrities to support breastfeeding; we encourage them to say at least that they’ve breast-fed their babies at least from 0-2 years.”  

BBB encourages extended breastfeeding and hopes to get more active support from both celebrities and the general public alike.