Breastfeeding is a priority program of DOH

This is in response to the opinion column of Mr. William Esposo published last December 11 with the title “Milking Bulls: Only in the Philippines,” which disapproves the way DOH is conducting its campaign on breastfeeding and claims that our agency’s current TV ad commercial is “premised on an outright falsehood” and was described as “stupid” and “irresponsible,” among others.

May we inform the officials of your broadsheet and Mr. Esposo, that since the airing of the said ad, we have received a lot of commendations and positive feedback from the public because of its strong message that NOT breastfeeding actually poses a lot of health risks for the infant. We have not violated anything or run against the ethics of responsible and honest advertising for what we portray is only the truth. It did not say anything that would harm or disparage milk companies nor belittle mothers not practicing breastfeeding. The ad was entirely meant to create public awareness (which it clearly did) that human milk will always be the supreme choice for our children. In fact it was the Lancet Child Survival Series that put breastfeeding as the number one strategy in child health, optimal nutrition and in the prevention of many diseases ranging from preventable infections early in infancy and childhood to long-term risks of developing asthma, allergies, obesity, cancer, diabetes and heart ailments later in life.

Mothers should receive only the most accurate information. And DOH, as the lead agency to protect the health and welfare of mothers and children, has the responsibility to inform and educate the public on correct and appropriate feeding practices for children. We reiterate that all mothers can breastfeed. Except for the very rare cases where infant formula may be indicated (e.g. infants with galactosemia, mothers receiving radioactive materials or chemotherapeutic agents are some examples), bottle-feeding poses deadly hazards especially in developing countries like the Philippines where we have to deal with poor families not having enough money to sustain the infant on expensive milk formula (hence malnutrition), unsafe water and lack of sterilized bottles & nipples (leading to deadly infections), and mothers unable to read and follow correct instructions on the proper use and preparation of formula milk (more malnutrition and infections).

Hence, I appeal to Mr. Esposo as a member of the media to exercise due caution and responsibility when making statements through his articles that there are alternative feeding options for young infants. Mothers who may not be able to breastfeed, and I repeat that this is in very, very rare instances, should be counseled on the risks of formula feeding and the appropriate feeding options for their babies. Breastfeeding can happen anytime, anywhere. Breast milk can be expressed by the mother in advance if she needs to work and leave her infant to the care of a ‘yaya’ or a relative. Or she can rely on another nursing mother (wet nurse) for the nourishment of her infants.

Poverty should never be an excuse. And “selling fish in the market” is not one of the indications for resorting to formula milk. In fact, poverty, aside from health issues, is the compelling motivation why we are reviving the culture of breastfeeding and targeting poor communities in our information and education campaign. The poverty alleviation advantages of breastfeeding consist of reduction in health expenditures by as much as P100 million, hospitalization costs at P280 million, absenteeism  in the workplace at P1 billion, and infant formula expenditures at P21.5 billion per year. How can DOH let the impoverishing effects of not breastfeeding prevail? How can we let this injustice happen when breast milk and its amazing benefits are entirely free for our people and our country?

Our move to promote, protect and sustain breastfeeding is a priority program of DOH. It is independent of what other breastfeeding advocates are doing, although we acknowledge their important contributions to our campaign. While the DOH is mandated to develop policies and guidelines on breastfeeding, to implement a nationwide program and to disseminate information to the public, educating mothers and creating an environment that will support breastfeeding is everyone’s responsibility. With a yearly appropriation of only P40 million for our health promotion activities spread across the different programs of the DOH, we are doing our best to make our campaign reach a wide audience and have a huge impact although we know that it is difficult to match the billions spent by milk companies in marketing their infant formula products. Media has a hand in this campaign by circulating only accurate information and by not allowing itself to become a pawn in the game of deception and confusion purported by several unethical industry players to get their hands on commercial profits.

We hope that we have clarified the issues raised by Mr. Esposo and have made him a male advocate for breastfeeding. We certainly need the help of our men, especially the men in media to create an environment supportive of breastfeeding in the country. — FRANCISCO T. DUQUE III, MD, MSc., Secretary of Health