More than 80 mothers turned up at the Mater Dei Hospital with their infants yesterday to participate in a multi-country event that was attempting to break the record for the largest number of mothers breastfeeding their baby simultaneously.

The idea behind such an event is to increase awareness of the advantages of breastfeeding as the natural form of feeding which, according to the organisers, “saves lives”.

The event in Malta was coordinated by the Malta Breastfeeding Foundation while the event was masterminded by the Children for Breastfeeding organisation, based in the Philippines, in partnership with the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA).

The event, held in 24 countries, was aimed at establishing another Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in multiple sites, to cap the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week.

Mater Dei, opened just a few weeks ago, was a more than appropriate venue for the event, which also coincided with the commencement of services for patients at the new hospital.

The WABA, the initiator of the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, emphasises the need to begin breastfeeding within the first hour of birth as the first and most vital step towards reducing infant and under-five mortality, by reducing the overwhelmingly high neonatal mortality rate.

According to the organisers, this can save one million babies worldwide.

In May last year, Children for Breastfeeding broke the Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in a Single Site when they gathered 3,541 mothers. The record was previously held by the Unites States of America with 1,130 mothers.

One year later, Children for Breastfeeding also attempted to create the First Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in Multiple Sites when they gathered more than 20,000 mothers in more than 400 sites. No official verification from the Guinness World Record is available as yet.