RIYADH, 16 August — A survey on weaning practices in the Kingdom has revealed that there is a swing back toward breast-feeding. Of the 492 infants covered by the survey, 60 percent were breast-fed until weaned, and only 10 percent had never received any breast milk.
This was disclosed to Arab News by Dr. Muhammad Saleh Al-Jasser, director general at the Nutrition Department in the Ministry of Health and national coordinator for Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI).
He said the Breast-feeding Week, originally scheduled for Aug. 1-7, will henceforth be observed every year from Sept. 15-21. The rescheduling was to make sure that the message gets the maximum exposure during the peak season.
The theme of the September event — “Breast-feeding in the Information Age” — would underscore the importance of breast-feeding and the role of the electronic as well as conventional media in highlighting the message.
Besides the mass media involvement, the director general said an awareness campaign would be launched to educate the community on the importance of breast-feeding. Other channels of communication would include posters, handbills and booklets, videocassettes as well as an exhibition on breast-feeding.
Dr. Al-Jasser said the department has drawn up a national code for milk substitutes and other baby foods. Under the code, no advertisements promoting baby formula are to be allowed. There will be a compulsory mass media campaign to spread the message of the code among the public.
The director general further said labels on milk substitutes and other baby foods should display the following advice: “Mother’s milk is the best and the safest.” And all such products should conform to SASO specifications. There will be penalties on companies or their personnel who violate the national code.
Referring to the current trends in breast-feeding, the director general pointed out that government efforts to promote breast-feeding through primary health care centers, hospitals, schools and the media were bearing fruit.
“Many mothers in Saudi society have become educated and better informed. We also like to believe that the mobility of the population and consequent exposure to different ways and habits is also partly responsible for the growing trend toward breast-feeding,” Dr. Al-Jasser said.
He added that the percentage of breast-fed children until weaned increased from 41 percent in 1981 to 60 percent in 1997. The number of children covered by the sample survey was 849 in 1981 and 492 in 1997.
The director general added the thrust of the breast-feeding campaign would be on increasing awareness among mothers through health care workers trained in childcare. “We must motivate young people to study and become involved in the gigantic task of providing basic health needs for the population at large.”
