Every child and every newborn have the right to safe, quality health care from day one.
A single safety incident can have lifelong consequences for a child’s health and development.
Join the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) for a regional webinar to mark World Patient Safety Day 2025 under the slogan “Patient safety from the start!”.
When: 23 September 2025
Time: 10:00 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. (EDT)
To establish lactation when an extremely premature birth occurs, it is important:
1) Manually expressing colostrum, within the first three hours after birth, initiates the milk production process and has several benefits:
- It empties the mammary gland which, together with the action of the hormones that promote labor and delivery, are a powerful stimulus to initiate milk production.
El Código se aplica en todos los países, con independencia de lo establecido en las políticas nacionales sobre la alimentación de los lactantes cuyas madres están infectadas por el VIH. La aplicación del código es fundamental para que no disminuyan las tasas de lactancia materna.
Human milk is the best food for newborns, even if they are small, premature or sick. Breastfeeding improves infant survival, health and development. It is also associated with better neurodevelopmental outcomes and less obesity, hypertension and insulin resistance in adolescence, among many other benefits.
In addition to the implementation of the International Code of Marketing of Human Milk Substitutes, other complementary actions are needed to promote the optimal feeding of infant and young children. The Breastfeeding Promotion Initiative led by WHO and UNICEF, aims to increase global commitment to breastfeeding. In addition to achieving full implementation of the code through strong legal measures, the initiative's call to action urges governments, donors and partners to do the following:
• Increase funding for breastfeeding promotion initiatives.
It is important to close the gap in the possibilities that women have to breastfeed their children since breastfeeding can act as a factor of equality in society.
Human milk is the best nutrition for children at a time when the epigenetic foundations for health and development are being established. Everyone has the right to access breast milk.
It is essential that no one is left behind, especially vulnerable mothers who may need additional support to reduce inequalities in the ability to breastfeed.
This World Breastfeeding Week, let’s appreciate breastfeeding mums and ensure they get the support they need.
Breastfeeding support comes in many forms – from staff welcoming breastfeeding in your local café to helpful advice from a health worker or maternity protections from your government.
These all help protect the health and rights of women and babies
Mothers who brestfeed need:
- Policies and attitudes that value women and breastfeeding
- A women and breastfeeding-friendly health care system
- Respect for women’s autonomy and her right to breastfeed anytime, anywhere
- Solidarity and community support
This year we want to really recognize breastfeeding mums, ensure they are seen and heard, and share relatable human experiences about breastfeeding and the importance of multi-level support.
World Breastfeeding Week is held in the first week of August every year.
The theme for 2024 is Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all.
The campaign will celebrate breastfeeding mothers in all their diversity, throughout their breastfeeding journeys, while showcasing the ways families, societies, communities and health workers can have the back of every breastfeeding mother.
This World Breastfeeding Week, let’s appreciate breastfeeding mums and ensure they get the support they need.
Universal neonatal screening for eye anomalies is recommended. This should be accompanied by diagnostic and treatment services for infants in whom an abnormality is detected.
An estimated 1.14 million children aged 0-15 years are blind or have severe visual impairment due to eye conditions. The main causes of blindness are congenital and developmental cataracts, corneal scarring, congenital ocular anomalies, retinal dystrophies, glaucoma, and retinopathy of prematurity.