01/09/2026
๐ ๐ฉ๐ถ๐น๐น๐ฎ๐ด๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐๐ณ๐๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐๐๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ต๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐คฑ
by CMU BSND OJT Vianna Chelsea C. Jabilles
It is important for a mother to breastfeed, but she shouldn't be expected to do so entirely by herself. The success of any breastfeeding experience depends on a support system: family members who care for the baby, employers who offer time and space for mothers to breastfeed or express breastmilk, health workers who provide evidence-based advice, peer groups demonstrating moral support, and government policies and programs that safeguard mothers' rights. In the country, the local government units (LGUs) and various organizations have a key role in creating communities that support mothers' choice to breastfeed.
The gold standard for infant and young child feeding is exclusive breastfeeding from birth until the infant is 6 months old, and continued breastfeeding with appropriate complementary feeding from 6 months until the child turns two years old. This promotes optimum cognitive and physical development among children, which lasts even until their adulthood.
However, new mothers often face challenges, especially when returning to work following their maternity leave. Breastfeeding is made more difficult by the lack of lactation rooms and paid breaks for expressing breastmilk in many workplaces. On top of this, aggressive advertising of breastmilk substitutes and a lack of reliable, culturally-sensitive information about infant feeding can confuse families. In response to these, several national policies have been established to promote a supportive environment for successful breastfeeding.
Republic Act No. 10028, known as the โExpanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009,โ mandates workplaces and public facilities to provide lactation stations where nursing mothers can breastfeed their infants or express their breastmilk. These stations are private, clean rooms equipped with handwashing sinks, a refrigerator for storing breastmilk, electrical outlets to charge breast pumps, a small table with chairs, among other equipment. By law, a lactation station may not be located in a toilet and must not contain any advertising for formula milk. The act also requires employers to give nursing employees paid breaks for breastfeeding (at least 40 minutes for each 8-hour workday). Put simply, the time a mother spends feeding her baby during breaks counts as working hours. These provisions ensure that mothers can continue breastfeeding after they return to work.
In addition to providing time and space, support also means ensuring that families and mothers get clear, objective, and consistent information about feeding babies. Executive Order No. 51 series 1986, also known as the "Milk Code," regulates breastmilk substitutes to protect breastfeeding. This includes banning the promotion of infant formula to the public or mothers, stopping free samples or gifts of formula from being given to hospitals or families, and not allowing formula to be promoted in health facilities. Herein, health professionals are trained to share evidence-based advice and promote breastfeeding, while formula companies can only provide factual, non-promotional information. These regulations help prevent confusion during the "First 1,000 Days," the crucial developmental period from pregnancy to a child's second birthday, by guaranteeing that breastmilk remains the primary option for infants.
For Northern Mindanao, the Regional Infant and Young Child Feeding Task Force and its LGU counterparts are tasked to promote and monitor the compliance on RA 10028 and EO 51 among public and private establishments.
Further, Republic Act No. 11148, the โKalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act,โ integrates breastfeeding into a thorough support system for mothers and children during the First 1,000 Days. The act provides appropriate interventions for women of reproductive age, maternal care during pregnancy, lactation counseling and home visits, nutritional assessments of postpartum mothers, and promotes the establishment of community mother-support groups. It is important to note that the law also extends workplace protections so that all employers, including small businesses and those in non-formal sectors, are required to allow lactation breaks and to provide lactation stations as stipulated by RA 10028. The law also encourages employers to set up breastfeeding support groups and to train their human resources staff in lactation management. To sum up, RA 11148 has integrated breastfeeding support into health, social welfare, and workplace policies.
The advantages of supporting a breastfeeding mother go beyond the mother and her baby. Families can make a difference by sharing housework and childcare duties, and by supporting mothers when breastfeeding proves difficult. Employers should offer suitable lactation stations, allow lactation breaks, and create a workplace environment that supports breastfeeding. Health workers should provide timely, accurate, evidence-based advice, and skilled lactation support. LGUs and communities can strengthen mother-support groups and ensure that breastfeeding services are easily accessible, even in emergency situations.
When these different kinds of support are combined, breastfeeding ceases to be something that falls solely to the individual. Instead, it becomes a community-supported practice through appropriate policies, services, and environments that help mothers continue breastfeeding. All mothers should have access to the support they need to give their children the best possible start in life. When families, workplaces, health workers, communities, and government agencies all support mothers, they help maintain breastfeeding.
In the end, the goal of maintaining breastfeeding is not to ask mothers to do more; rather, it is about making sure that no mother has to go through it by herself. After all, breastfeeding is a shared responsibility. (CMU BSND OJT Vianna Chelsea C. Jabilles / [email protected] / 09631090198)
References:
Department of Health. (2006). AO No. 2006-0012: Revised implementing rules and regulations of Executive Order No. 51, otherwise known as the โMilk Code,โ relevant international agreements, penalizing violations thereof, and for other purposes. https://elibrary.judiciary.gov.ph/thebookshelf/showdocs/10/39745
Republic of the Philippines. (1986). EO No. 51: Adopting a national code of marketing of breastmilk substitutes, breastmilk supplements and related products, penalizing violations thereof, and for other purposes. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/1986/10/20/executive-order-no-51-s-1986-2/
Republic of the Philippines. (2010). RA No. 10028: Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009. https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/2010/03/16/republic-act-no-10028/
Republic of the Philippines. (2018). RA No. 11148: Kalusugan at Nutrisyon ng Mag-Nanay Act.https://www.officialgazette.gov.ph/downloads/2018/11nov/20181129-RA-11148-RRD.pdf
World Health Organization, & United Nations Childrenโs Fund. (2024). On World Breastfeeding Week, UNICEF and WHO call for equal access to breastfeeding support. https://www.who.int/news/item/31-07-2024-on-world-breastfeeding-week--unicef-and-who-call-for-equal-access-to-breastfeeding-support
