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The Hon Minister for
Gozo Ms. Giovanna Debono speaking to the ABC delegation and staff
of Gozo General Hospital.
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Speaker: Christine Borg, Chair.
Date: 6th August, 2004
Venue: Maternity Ward, Gozo General Hospital
Duration: 5 min
Introduction
As
representatives of breastfeeding mothers and babies we take our role
seriously and it is with a sense of achievement that I am happy today
to have worked with two Government departments for this week’s events.
I am even happier to be here today so that we may bring awareness to
people residing in Gozo of the services that our Association offers.
I
shall speak about:
The ABC
The
ABC is a Non Profit Organisation whose role is:
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to educate the public
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to advocate on behalf of civil society
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to support and empower mothers in their choice to breastfeed and
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to protect breastfeeding against negative commercial interests.
The
goal of the ABC is not only that we see an increase in the statistics
of initiation, which is valid in itself but is a small indicator of
change, but also to see that mothers are empowered to the point of
breastfeeding for as long as they really want to. The real test is to
be able to measure attitudes that imply that the public thinks of
bottlefeeding only as a last resort. This is the point by which we may
infer that we are truly moving towards a breastfeeding culture.
The ABC is doing its part towards the
realisation of this goal. We have embarked on several objectives to
improve the quantity and quality of our services to be in a better
position to address the needs of breastfeeding mothers and babies in
Malta. And if anybody wants to know more about us kindly visit our
newly developed website at
www.breastfeedingmalta.org
Proposal
The
purpose of this visit today is firstly to extend the reach of our
celebrations of World Breastfeeding Week 2004 to people in Gozo and
secondly to continue on our initiative of collaboration between
stakeholders by proposing a new service by the ABC.
We
ask of the Management of the Maternity Services of Gozo General
Hospital, that mothers who show the inclination towards breastfeeding
be given our telephone numbers so that mothers can phone and
discuss any query regarding breastfeeding.
Another popular service that we give is home visits. However as
mothers would need this service as soon as a problem is discovered, it
is not logistically possible for Breastfeeding Counsellors in Malta to
cross to Gozo in short notice.
Therefore we propose that a course for training local mothers
in the science and arts of Breastfeeding Counselling be held in Gozo
during 2005. This course is being given for the first time in Malta
and we would like to be able to evaluate it before offering again. It
has started in July 2005 and will finish in July 2005.
Another service we give is the course for expectant parents.
Mothers who are about seven months pregnant apply for this course to
learn more about the physiology and management of breastfeeding and
other important factors. The course is also open to fathers and
grandparents who have a great influence on the mother’s confidence to
breastfeed. The course is held over three sessions of two hours each
and a fee of Lm 6.00 is charged to help cover expenses of the ABC.
Appeal
The
theme for this Breastfeeding Week is Excusive Breastfeeding. To ensure
that the structural framework does not hinder this we must address two
important issues.
To
date distributors of artificial milk are free to solicit business from
health professionals. I appeal to all that we attract funding from
rightful sources rather than succumb to dealing with sponsors who
ironically have a lot to gain by associating with us but where the
association would be ultimately defeating the purpose of promotion by
hurting the interest of the main stakeholders – mothers and babies.
In
order to see this materialise other entities must take it upon
themselves to increase their knowledge of breastfeeding and apply it
at their decision making level.
Mothers should not have to choose between breastfeeding and working.
They should be enabled to do both. All that is needed is a small room
with a table and chair, a fridge and running water. Having a
child-care facility nearby will be even better as mothers can
breastfeed their child during breaks. Therefore we urge:
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