Working for Change 121
If you are a health worker, it is not enough to talk about
breastfeeding. Women need information and support. Teach
women to give nothing but breast milk for the first 6 months.
Teach them and their family members that other kinds of feedings
may harm the baby.
Support women with breastfeeding before problems start.
Help women feel confident that they have enough milk. Mother-to-
mother support is the best help for common problems. Try starting
a breastfeeding group in your community led by women who have
breastfed exclusively, and whose children are growing well.
Make your health center friendly to breastfeeding. Help
mothers to breastfeed within the first hour after birth. Allow
babies to sleep with or near their mothers. When a mother is
sick, let the baby stay with her.
If you are a mother yourself, breastfeed your own baby to
show women they can work and breastfeed too.
Remove any posters or educational materials that promote
artificial milks. Do not pass on samples or gifts from the infant
formula companies and do not let representatives from these
companies come to the clinic.
Educate employers about the importance of breastfeeding.
Encourage them to provide places for women to breastfeed their
babies or to pump milk.
Working for
Change
Where Women Have No Doctor  2012