Dr. Clavel Sanchez, coordinator of the National Breastfeeding Commission, complains that clinics and baby formula companies are discouraging successful breastfeeding by making their products freely available to mothers shortly after they give birth. She says this practice violates Breastfeeding Law 8-95. As reported in Listin Diario, she complained that in most cases babies are fed with milk formulas without their mothers’ permission and that mothers are not even given the chance to choose. She says that the lack of adequate space for the baby to stay with the mother in many hospital rooms also affects successful breastfeeding.
She presented the results of a study on breastfeeding at birth carried out together with the Dominican Journalists Association (CDP).
Sanchez said that another frequent violation is advertising formula without indications that the formula should not be a substitute for breast milk. She said that all formula labeling is sent to the Ministry of Public Health’s Breastfeeding Commission that makes observations on what should be included in the label, but she says these observations are ignored, and many companies keep the original labels.
She said that Art. 9 of the law bans the promotion and advertising of formula, baby bottles and pacifiers in both private and public hospitals. Law 8-95 also prohibits promoters of these products from visiting the health centers.
Dr. Sanchez and Sarah Melendez, nutrition officer for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said that several companies distribute formula to pediatricians who in turn recommend the product to the mothers of newborn babies, which also violates the law.
As reported in Hoy, Sanchez says that only 8 out of every 100 women who give birth in the DR breastfeed their children. She called for an alliance with local media to create awareness that babies need to be breastfed for at least six months.
She said the commission would meet with the Dominican Pediatrics Society with a view to launching a nationwide campaign to promote breastfeeding as a way of ensuring the best nourishment for newborn babies.