The Strides of Nursing Moms Support Groups

(Newswire.net — December 4, 2017) Cheyenne, Wyoming — Breastfeeding is often thought of a solo mom job but it is actually best accomplished with the understanding and support of family, community and even employers. While nursing is still popular and unstigmatized in many countries, there are some regions that have experienced social shifts in recent decades. In response to changing sentiments, a number of support initiatives have been launched worldwide. 

“One such organization is the Greater Moscow League of Young Mums, which is successfully offering social and cultural support to pregnant women and families, helping new parents to adapt their social roles,” said Aleksandr Racimor, Deputy Head of Stupino Municipal District in Russia. A strong network of medical professionals guiding mothers and mothers-to-be on how their bodies are changing and the value of breastfeeding has far-reaching benefits for the development of healthy children. 

“Breastfeeding is so natural that it should be the absolute norm. It is essential for good health in the long-term,” said Natal’ja Konjaeva, Coordinator, Greater Moscow League of Young Mums. Understanding the importance of promoting breastfeeding, the World Health Organization (WHO) now annually observes World Breastfeeding Week on August 1-7 every year to honor the signing of the Innocenti Declaration at the WHO/UNICEF meeting on “Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative”.   

More recently in Vietnam, there has been heavy campaigning on television through programs such as “Alive & Thrive” backed by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The specific purpose of it is to boost breastfeeding rates in the country. As a result of this and other similar movements, the Vietnamese government established a ban on advertising infant formulas aimed at children under 24 months, as guided by the WHO’s International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes. 

An increase in paid maternity leave, from four months to now six months, is another welcomed policy change enforced by Vietnam’s government. A number of companies in that country have followed suit and now provide lactation spaces for the nursing mothers among their staff. 

Proper diet and limited alcohol consumption are taught as integral to the health of both mother and suckling child. A balanced lifestyle may involve moderate drinking occasionally which can be facilitated by calculating the wait time required before resuming feeds, alongside testing a sample of breast milk to know when it is alcohol-free. The PureMilk™ Breast Milk Test Strips by HealthyWiser™ is a quick, safe and reliable analysis kit that provides results with 99.9% accuracy in mere seconds.