“Malta has the second lowest rate of breastfeeding in Europe,” the Commissioner for Children, Sonia Camilleri said yesterday at a seminar on breastfeeding.
Malta has signed an international agreement which protects the rights of the child and binds the government to promote breastfeeding during anti-natal classes.
However, Mrs Camilleri said that not enough was being done.
“The government is not doing enough to promote breastfeeding – I will be writing to the Minister of Health to remind him of his obligations towards newborn babies.”
She called for more in-depth training in breast-feeding, especially in the midwifery, nursing and medicine courses.
The head of the Paediatrics Ward, Dr Simon Attard Montalto, said it was important for men to support their partners’ choice to breastfeed their child.
Although the rate of breastfeeding is increasing very slowly, Malta still has a long way to go to improve the situation.
In 2002, over 70 per cent of women discharged from private hospitals were breastfeeding their children compared to 60 per cent from St Luke’s Hospital and just over 30 per cent of women discharged from the hospital in Gozo.
At present, there is no budget allocated by the government to have an information campaign and there are still many myths about breastfeeding.
Having small breasts or statements that breast milk was bad for the baby were not true and had to be dispersed, Helen Borg, a breastfeeding counsellor, said.
Mothers are not prepared for breastfeeding and adequate training is needed to boost a mother’s confidence. However, what has to change is the public’s perception that breastfeeding is bad for the child.
“The major obstacles against breastfeeding come from outside the home. Aggressive marketing campaigns from formula feed companies also make it difficult,” said Mrs Camilleri.
One of the mothers said relatives and friends accused her of being a bad mother and a miser because she refused to buy formula feed.
“There is the need for a culture change in Malta when it comes to breastfeeding. It is seen as a lifestyle choice and not a health concern,” said Mary Buttigieg Said, from the Association of Breastfeeding Counsellors.
She said the first Malta Breastfeeding Centre will be opened first, along with the first non-medical institution for breastfeeding.
Breastfeeding at the workplace is not impossible but something which needs to be discussed with the employer before the child is born. Other issues that should be discussed with employers are extra or more frequent breaks, a flexible schedule and a quiet place where she can breastfeed the infant.