BENCHWARMER

And the wailing stopped
RAMON S. DACAWI

While nursing mothers were waiting to establish a world record Wednesday morning, their bundles of joy were also setting a record of sorts - for simultaneous wailing.

Most of the 122 babies and toddlers at the city health department grounds simply couldn’t wait. They cried out for their mothers’ milk, almost drowning the 10-second countdown beamed on national radio for the feeding to begin.

Suddenly, at 10 o'clock, there was contented silence as nourishment began. The figures were still being tallied for a record to be set in simultaneous breast-feeding in multiple sites - health centers, barangay halls, day care centers, basketball courts and sports facilities all over the country.

Manila last year had 3,541 babies at the San Andres Sports Complex in Makati to break the record of 1,130 for a single site set in Berkeley, California in 2002.

Establishing records, however, was never the actual point of “Sabay-sabay, Sumuso sa Nanay”, as the nation-wide event was dubbed. “We’re not here for Guinness,” said Dr. Florence Reyes, Baguio’s city health officer.

The event meant to deliver again the point that there’s no better substitute for mother’s breast milk It was, is and will always be the best for babies, whatever claims milk companies make of the nutritive values of their commercial products, say the health experts.

Point is, as acting city mayor Reinaldo Bautista noted, husbands play a crucial role in the push for a return to the Filipinos' breast-feeding culture.

"Encourage your husbands to have a part in this (health program)," he told the mothers, some of whom were accompanied by their mates. Breast-feeding also builds mother-and-baby bonding, something that bottle feeding can't provide, health workers stressed.

The idea for the event "started as a form of protest when mothers were admonished not to breast-feed in public," the promotional material said. "It eventually became an effective way of celebrating the joys of motherhood through breastfeeding."

“Hindi nakakahiyang magpasuso (it’s not shameful to breast-feed),” added regional health officer, Dr. Myrna Cabotaje. Sad fact is, she noted, only one out of 100 babies is breast-fed in this country. In the United States -- where a chamber of commerce official warned against Philippine restrictions on distribution of breast-milk substitutes -- the ratio is one to four.

The renewed drive, she said, is a tribute to the mother who started it all, way back in 1975 at the Baguio General Hospital. Dr. Natividad Relucio-Clavano, then the chief of the pediatrics department, was saddened by the growing number of mothers who bottle-fed, denying the crucial early bonding for mother and child.

Clavano set up the Under Six clinic and put in place a system of breast-feeding and rooming-in for the newly born with their mothers in the ward. Her system made the BGH the first mother-and-baby friendly hospital.

In 1979, the then Ministry of Health adopted her system as a national program. Eventually, it became a model of the United Nations International Emergency Children's Fund and the World Health Organization for the "Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiatives".

In 2003, Clavano received from the Venture Club of the Americas the Mae Carvell International Award for her gift to motherhood and childcare. The award, named in honor of the founder of the Venture Club youth group, gives recognition to men and women whose works help advance women's status, equal rights, education and employment, and in bringing down economic and professional barriers to women.

Unicef has taken the cue and now aggressively supports breast-feeding programs in various parts of the world. Medical and nutrition workers from other countries continue to visit the small clinic that Dr. Clavano established.

Among those pushing the campaign to wean mothers and babies from infant formula is Dr. Martha Cayad-an, project officer for health and nutrition, adolescent and maternal health.

"When asked to speak in weddings I'm invited as sponsor, I never fail to advice the couple to breast-feed their babies," she said.