Breastfeeding (and the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative) : a development issue

Abstract

It is safe to speculate that there are numerous underlying obstacles facing breastfeeding women today, not just in North America, but globally. Factors, such as the socio-economic status, support, education, and the role of the media are adding to this phenomena of an overwhelming baby-unfriendly society.

The purpose of this study is to examine how breastfeeding is a global development issue. Within this framework, the ecumenical dilemmas with regards to the breastfeeding vs. bottlefeeding controversy will be discussed.

Further, this study will examine breastfeeding as the focus of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative, a new joint health initiative which was set up by Unicef and the World Health Organization, shortly after the World Summit for Children in 1990. Subsequently, this examination will seek to illustrate why the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative has been so successful in the developing countries (using in particular, the case of Manila, Philippines where the initiative had its early informal beginnings) and why the initiative, here in Canada, is lagging behind.