Earlier this week I wrote about moves in the UK to protect a mothers right to breastfeed in public places and yesterday cited a study from the US about the impact of a social advertising campaign in changing attitudes. Now some news on an approach that has been followed in the Philippines: mass breastfeeding events.
The history is explained by campaigners there as follows: "Simultaneous breastfeeding started out as a protest that mothers resort to when they are admonished not to breastfeed in public. The act’s popularity rose to become a form of celebration during occasions like the World Breastfeeding Week."
Today, I am giving my blog over to this message from campaigners in the Philippines.
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Children for Breastfeeding, Inc., a Philippine-based advocacy group invites you to join us to establish a new record for “The most women in synchronized breastfeeding around the world.”
Children for Breastfeeding, Inc. proposed and was authorized by the Guinness World Records Ltd. to initiate the event. Previously, our organization broke the world record for the most women simultaneously breastfeeding in a single site (3,541 with the City of Manila and Nurturers of the Earth in 2006), and in multiple sites (about 14,000 as of the last count in more than 400 sites throughout the Philippines this year). The first attempt of synchronized breastfeeding is tentatively scheduled on August 7, 2007 during the World Breastfeeding Week.
[See my earlier blog about these records:
http://boycottnestle.blogspot.com/2007/05/philippines-mothers-go-for-mass.html]
We are calling for volunteers to be national coordinators to submit to us their national tally and the necessary documents. Thus far, New Zealand, Greece and India have committed to join the attempt. You can create your own web section for this event like New Zealand. Please visit their site:
http://www.womens-health.org.nz/breastfeed/bfweek2007.htm
Nurturers of the Earth, our event coordinator will put up a website for this event. We will announce when the website is online. Meanwhile, please visit the website they put up for Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in Multiple Sites at http://www.breastfeedingphilippines.com/ to know more about our organizations. Click Sabay-sabay, Sumuso sa Nanay web banner to know more about our simultaneous breastfeeding in multiple sites.
The purpose of this activity is to encourage breastfeeding EVERYWHERE IN THE WORLD as a world prayer of thanksgiving for the gift of motherhood and breastfeeding. We also aim to promote it as the only perfect means to nurture our children to better health, and as the most far-reaching and cheapest strategy for the alleviation of poverty. This is especially urgent in an impoverished Third World country inveigled by propaganda to use its meager resources to import formula milk from cows at the cost of its health, and abandoning breastfeeding which is free and nutritious unlike formula milk.
This attempt will be done with the spirit of cooperation rather than competition, to advance the breastfeeding movement. Because of the different time zones in the world, it is necessary to stagger the times of participation, like the celebration of New Year, to the same designated time in every time zone, over a period of 24 hours, starting from the country initiating the attempt. For example, the attempt is first initiated in Manila, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Beijing and Hong Kong at 10 am local time; an hour later in the next time zone, 10 am local time in Tokyo and Seoul; the next hour at 10 am local time in Melbourne, Guam and Vladivostok; etcetera, etcetera, for 24 hours till the attempt is made at 10 am local time the next day in New Zealand, Bangkok, Hanoi and Jakarta.
According to the Philippine proposal, there will be no minimum in the number of sites required and no minimum in number of nursing women required in each site. Since the advent of the Internet and the computer, it is now possible to document any event simultaneously in the entire world accurately, expeditiously, and in real time. Participation forms may be downloaded anywhere through the Internet, the attempts documented with two independent witnesses at each site, and the results sent back to the initiator through e-mail. Even the attempt of one lone nursing mother in her own house with the required witnesses, may thus be documented. To avoid confusion and cross-purposes, there will be only one attempt authorized by Guinness to proceed at any designated time and date.
We hope you can experience people and faith power in this unique Filipino way!
Yours truly,
Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra, MD, FPDS, RPh, IBCLC
Director
Children for Breastfeeding:
Mobilizing children to support pregnant and breastfeeding mothers
Nurture our Children!
Nurture the Earth!
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So once a national coordinator is found, there will be potential to become involved as a mother, organiser or witness.
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