Finance Secretary Cesar Purisima will narrate his personal experience as a father of a breastfeeding child in a two-day event—the 1st International Breastfeeding Conference and 3rd Breastfeeding Congress, Aug. 3-4, at Crowne Plaza Galleria in Pasig.
The Philippine Pediatric Society (PPS) is teaming up with The Medical City to mount the event, whose theme is “Breastfeeding and Work: Let’s Make It Work!”
An international organization, Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine (ABM), is sending experts as guest speakers.
Speakers’ topics
Dr. Arthur Eidelman, a neonatologist and past president of ABM, will discuss the physician’s role in the promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding; the practical implication of the latest breastfeeding research to the clinician; and if there is a risk for infection in preterm infants given donor breastmilk.
Dr. Jennifer Thomas—also from ABM, and a pediatrician and public health expert who recently co-authored her first book, “Dr. Jen’s Guide to Breastfeeding”—will talk about maintaining breastfeeding in the first two weeks; the normal newborn and the use of appropriate supplementation; evaluating the evidence against breastfeeding and how we respond to it; and breastfeeding in special circumstances.
She will also discuss the physician’s role on how to help mothers achieve their breastfeeding goals.
Dr. Miriam Labbok, a fellow of ABM and a public health expert, will deliver a talk on fertility and birth spacing in breastfeeding as well as clinical and non-clinical breastfeeding interventions.
The fourth speaker, Dr. Julie Smith, has a PhD in Economics and received her certificate in breastfeeding education in 2008 from the Australian Breastfeeding Association.
She will speak about the marketing and economics of breastfeeding and best practice strategies for breastfeeding in the workplace.
Filipino doctors
Also invited are Filipino doctors who will share their expertise and experiences regarding breastfeeding.
Dr. Ryan Capitulo will present the joint position statement of the Philippine Obstetric and Gynecologic Society and the PPS on breastfeeding.
Dr. Ma. Naval Rivas will discuss how to have a breastfeeding-friendly physician’s office.
Dr. Sharon Gianan-Cruz will speak on the role of fathers in breastfeeding and how they can become the tool for a successful breastfeeding experience.
Finally, doctors Blesilda Concepcion and Estrella Jusi will talk about The Medical City and Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital’s response to the call to action
on how to become one of the first PPS-accredited “mother-
baby friendly hospitals” in the country.
Baby-friendly initiatives
The event will also launch the World Health Organization/ Unicef’s baby-friendly initiatives.
Representatives from different PPS-accredited hospitals, supporting organizations and lead partners will be invited to participate in this endeavor.
The initiatives include: mother-baby-friendly hospital (MBFH) initiative; baby-friendly workplace initiative; for hospitals already with full MBFH accreditation, baby-friendly neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) initiative; and baby-friendly community initiative.
The two-day event will be a meeting of leaders of communities, hospitals and organizations to initiate improvement in the local setting through collaboration and networking.
The congress will also feature two workshops: the Kangaroo Mother Care (KMC) workshop and the Wellstart Breastfeeding workshop.
KMC is a method of care of preterm and low-birth weight infants which involves infants being carried, usually by the mother, with skin-to-skin contact. KMC workshop is intended for health professionals responsible for the care of these infants.
The Wellstart Breastfeeding workshop aims to equip educators of the Wellstart Breastfeeding curriculum from PPS-accredited hospitals, with the basic skills needed in the training of students and residents regarding breastfeeding.
