by Luz Indah Abayan
CRC Asia Policy Advocacy Officer

Did you know that a Filipino family can save up to PhP 4,000.00 monthly or PhP 48,000.00 yearly if breastfeeding is supported before, during and after pregnancy?

Aside from the money saved by not buying formula milk, a breastfeeding family can also save an additional PhP 2,000 a month or PhP 24,000.00 a year which is the modest estimate cost of vitamins and supplements, excluding health worker’s fee and medicines, for treating babies not optimally breastfed.

These were pointed out by Dr. Maria “Mianne” Asuncion Silvestre, founder of Kalusugan ng Mag-Ina, Inc., during the brown bag discussion with CRC Asia staff on January 11, 2017 at the CRC Asia office in Quezon City, Philippines.

Dr. Silvestre stressed that a child’s greatest potential can only be enabled by ensuring that the mother is healthy even before the child is conceived. This is because the first 1,000 days of a child covers the three most crucial periods in child development: a) nine months of pregnancy or 270 days; b) from birth to six months or 180 days and; c) six months to two years or 550 days. If the mother is undernourished at these stages, the adverse impacts on the child’s mental, emotional, and physical development are irreversible. In effect, the child too is undernourished.

Undernourished children are stunted, have weaker immune systems, and are vulnerable to common illnesses and diseases which further cause suboptimal brain development. As adults, they are likely to have lower incomes and higher fertility rates and are likely to pass on poor infant-rearing practices. These result to intergenerational poverty in the country.

The number of babies dying each day because they are denied their right to breastfeeding can cover the whole of Araneta Coliseum which has a total seating capacity of 16,000. This causes a 3% decrease in Gross Domestic Product (GDP), an indicator of a country’s economic development.

Dr. Silvestre pointed a great need to revisit the health care system for Filipino women in their reproductive age to discontinue the cycle of undernutrition which the Philippines has been addressing in billions of public funds year in and year out. A policy environment that fully supports breastfeeding and balanced diet sourced from unprocessed foods that naturally grow in backyards and communities has to dominate so Filipino families can avoid spending thousands on supplements and medicines that can only be curative and not preventive of any illness.

Aside from providing economic benefits, did you know that optimal breastfeeding also promotes a non-violent society? It is a form of contract between a mother and a child in which an inseparable biological and sociological bond prevents cases of child abuse with parents as perpetrator of violence.

Oxytocin, a hormone released each time a  mother breastfeeds, decreases blood pressure and calms the mother. Researches along this line found a 38-fold difference in frequency of domestic violence and sexual abuse between breastfeeding and non-breastfeeding groups. Hence, it plays a great role in promoting a peaceful and secure environment for each child which is likely to end crimes in societies when supported in succeeding generations.

Breastfeeding saves money, saves lives, and helps secure our future.

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CRC Asia conducts brownbag discussions among its staff to develop their understanding of issues related to child rights in the Philippines and abroad. Dr. Asuncion is an award-winning scientist and the co-author of Painless Evidence Based Medicine published by John Wiley and Sons, Ltd. of the United Kingdom.