From 1-7 August 2010, the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), and breastfeeding advocates in more than 170 countries worldwide will be celebrating World Breastfeeding Week for the 19th year with the theme "Breastfeeding: Just 10 Steps. The Baby-Friendly Way".

Research shows that the best feeding option globally is the initiation of breastfeeding within the first half hour of life, exclusive breastfeeding for a full six months and continued breastfeeding through the second year or beyond. Breastfeeding improves short and long term maternal and child health; and thus contribute to the attainment of the Millenium Development Goals (MDGs) 4: REDUCE CHILD MORTALITY and 5 IMPROVE MATERNAL HEALTH, to which many countries and agencies are committed.

UNICEF recently noted that the reduction of child deaths from 13 million globally in 1990 to 8.8 million in 20081 is partly due to the adoption of basic health interventions such as early and exclusive breastfeeding.

More and more studies have shown that implementation of the Ten Steps with continued postnatal support contributes to increased breastfeeding initiation and exclusive breastfeeding at the local, national and global levels. 2,3,4

Today, an estimated 28% of all maternity facilities in the world have at some point implemented the Ten Steps which has contributed to an encouraging increase in breastfeeding rates despite aggressive commercial promotion of infant formula and feeding bottles.

However this is a far cry from the original goal of ALL maternity facilities practising the Ten Steps by 1995 as stated in the Innocenti Declaration (1990) on the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding which had outlined what countries should do to support breastfeeding.

Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding

Every facility providing maternity services and care for newborn infants should:

1. Have a written breastfeeding policy that is routinely communicated to all health care staff.

2. Train all health care staff in skills necessary to implement this policy.

3. Inform all pregnant mothers about the benefits and management of breastfeeding.

4. Help mothers initiate breastfeeding within a half-hour of birth.

5. Show mothers how to breastfeed, and how to maintain lactation even if they should be separated from their infants.

6. Give newborn infants no food or drink other than breastmilk unless medically indicated.

7. Practice rooming-in - allow mothers and infants to remain together - 24 hours a day.

8. Encourage breastfeeding on demand.

9. Give no artificial teats or pacifiers (also called dummies or soothers) to breastfeeding infants.

10. Foster the establishment of breastfeeding support groups and refer mothers to them on discharge from the hospital or clinic.