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The Department of Health (DH) is committed to protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding and will continue its efforts to implement the breastfeeding policy in all Maternal and Child Health Centres and the workplace to support local breastfeeding mothers.
The department・s Senior Medical Officer Dr Rachel Cheng made this remark today (August 1) at a press conference marking the ：2009 World Breastfeeding Week；.
With the theme of ：Breastfeeding: A vital Emergency Response: Are You Ready?；, the seven-day event is organised by the Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative Hong Kong Association.
Dr Cheng said that in 2000 the department・s Family Health Service had implemented a breastfeeding policy by providing a supportive environment in all Maternal and Child Health Centres (MCHCs) to ensure a uniform practice among staff members in promoting breastfeeding.
In 2002, the department implemented a departmental policy to further promote breastfeeding among all staff members and support breastfeeding in the workplace. All service units have been encouraged to support postnatal staff to continue breastfeeding after resuming duty.
Besides providing appropriate facilities for expressing and storing breast milk in the workplace, arrangements have been to meet the needs of staff in expressing breast milk during working hours.
She said the Department of Health had endorsed the recommendations of the World Health Organisation・s expert consultation group by encouraging exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months after birth, with subsequent introduction of complementary food from the age of six months while continuing breastfeeding until the age of 2 or beyond.
Dr Cheng said through structural training programmes, such as the WHO/UNICEF 40-hour training course on breastfeeding counseling, refresher courses and clinical attachments, all MCHC colleagues are competent in providing professional and effective breastfeeding coaching to mothers.
To cater for the needs of breastfeeding working mothers, a series of special workshops have been launched at the MCHCs to equip them with more practical skills and get them prepared for continuing breastfeeding upon resumption work.
Emphasising that breastmilk was the best natural food for babies, she said the immediate and long-term health benefits of breastfeeding for babies and their mothers were well recognised.
：For instance, breastfed babies suffer fewer incidences of diarrhoea, respiratory and middle ear infections, and are less likely to develop allergies and childhood obesity later on.
：Breastfeeding promotes emotional bonding between mother and child. It also helps mothers to recover more quickly after delivery, and reduce the risks of breast cancer, ovarian cancer and osteoporosis, ； she said.
On the trend in the prevalence and duration of breastfeeding in Hong Kong, Dr Cheng said the breastfeeding surveys conducted in the department・s MCHCs showed that the breastfeeding rate rose from 50% in 1997 to 73% in 2008. The exclusive breastfeeding rate for four to six months increased from 6% to 12.1%.
However, there is still room for improvement, considering the higher rates reported in some countries.
She appealed for continued and concerted efforts from all sectors of the community, including families, healthcare professionals, media and employers so that mothers could be given sufficient information, encouragement and support to longer periods for better health of the children in Hong Kong.
During the 2009 World Breastfeeding Week, community awareness of breastfeeding would be further enhanced by TV and radio advertisements, newspaper feature articles and media interviews on breastfeeding, she said.
Ends/Saturday, August 1, 2009
Issued at HKT 14:15
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