Thread by @WHO

#Breastfeeding is systematically undervalued by societies and exploited by industry: A new research series in @TheLancet from WHO & partners.

This compromises the #HumanRights, health and well-being of women and children bit.ly/3Ya22iM

#Breastfeeding provides immense benefits for children & societies. It:
⬆️increases survival
⬆️improves physical & cognitive development
⬇️reduces infections, obesity & chronic disease risk.

Yet, less than half of babies are 🤱🏻- per WHO guidance - for the first 6 months

To protect health & support #breastfeeding, women need:
💟 Adequate paid maternity leave - preferably 6+ months - in line with WHO guidance on exclusive 🤱🏻
💟 Time off for 🤱🏻 or expressing milk upon return to work
💟 🤱🏻-friendly workplaces & childcare
bit.ly/3Ya22iM

The formula milk industry’s marketing tactics are exploitative.
Urgent clampdowns are needed to end its:
👎🏼 misleading claims
👎🏼 harmful lobbying
👎🏼 divisive tactics

More bit.ly/3Ya22iM

#EndExploitativeMarketing

Formula milk marketing adds to challenges faced by new parents, exploiting anxieties about common infant behaviours such as fussiness or poor sleep.

Misleading claims undermine #breastfeeding & are used to justify inflated prices for their products.

#EndExploitativeMarketing

#DYK: The dairy and formula milk industries have created a wide network of unaccountable trade associations.
These front groups lobby against national or global policies that support #breastfeeding and protect women’s rights bit.ly/3Ya22iM

#EndExploitativeMarketing

To support #breastfeeding, all women should have adequate maternity protections assured by law, including paid maternity leave.
This includes millions of women working in the informal sector who currently lack access to these benefits bit.ly/3Ya22iM

To support #breastfeeding, governments & policymakers should:
✅Create supportive environments for 🤱🏻, ensuring ALL women have paid maternity leave
✅#EndExploitativeMarketing of formula milk
✅Expand training so health workers can help with breastfeeding before & after birth