There will be a Festival of Breastfeeding on Thursday, 4 August 2005 from 10:00 to 13:00 at the Promenade Centre in Mitchells Plain. During the programme, scores of mothers will be invited to breastfeed their babies at exactly 12 noon to celebrate Breastfeeding Week.

Breastfeeding Week: 1 to 7 August 2005

The Provincial Government of the Western Cape joins 120 countries in highlighting Breastfeeding Week from 1 to 7 August 2005. The theme this year is, "Breastfeeding and Family Foods: LOVING and HEALTHY". This theme draws attention to the value of continuing to breastfeed children from birth to two years and beyond. Childminders are also encouraged to share ideas for making complementary feeding easier and healthier. Complementary feeding is the term used for giving other foods and drinks to children who at six months of age need additional foods to breastmilk to meet their nutritional needs.

Babies older than six months and young children usually share the food that the rest of the family eats. These children need to be given the most nutritious bits of the family food which have been appropriately prepared (chopped, softened, mashed) to suit the child's eating abilities. When carried out with care and patience, starting to feed other foods can be a time of extending the mother-baby bond to include the rest of the family.

Sandra MacPhail, Programme Manager of the Integrated Nutrition Programme said, "We actively promote breastfeeding especially for the first six months of a baby's life because breastmilk meets all his/her nutritional requirements. It is the baby's first immunisation, it prevents diarrhoea, it is cheaper and is available 24/7."

Sandra MacPhail
Integrated Nutrition Programme
Tel: 021 918 1697

Maureen McCrea
Media Enquiries
Tel: 021 918 1708