Peru’s Ministry of Health adopts a “Guide to Breastfeeding Counselling” during WBW2015

From 1 – 7 August 2015, the 2015 World Breastfeeding Week celebrations in Peru included the Ministry of Health approval and adoption of the “Guide to Breastfeeding Counselling”, a review of progress made in laws and regulations and a breastfeeding competition in a hospital in Lima.

The Guide to Breastfeeding Counselling will help to establish the conceptual, methodological and instrumental criteria for breastfeeding counselling to support and facilitate the right of mothers to breastfeed their children up to two years or more. The document was approved with Ministerial Resolution No. 462-2015 / MINSA and is mandatory in health facilities under the management of the Institute of Health Services. The guide addresses regional health managers. The Director General of Health Promotion in the Ministry of Health, Peñaherrera Edwin Sanchez, said that any time will always be the right time to give mothers good advice about feeding her new-born; however, there are critical moments where support and assistance from trained health personnel in breastfeeding counselling is most effective.

“For effective breastfeeding, it is recommended that the mother enjoys the experience to better prepare, initiate and continue breastfeeding. She requires environmental support from the family, the community and the staff of health facilities” – Peñaherrera Edwin Sanchez, Director General, Health Promotion, Ministry of Health

Newspaper El Comercio shared ten eating tips to facilitate breastfeeding with the support of a Clinical Nutrition expert and Congressman César Yrupailla shared an article on El Peruano about breastfeeding, family and work. He expressed his support for breastfeeding and recognised the benefits of breastfeeding on the mother and child, and also highlighted the significant social and economic benefits for families and societies when an infant is well nourished. He also shared progress made by the Peruvian government in recent years including the pre-natal and post-natal leave Act No. 26644 and breastfeeding laws No. 27240 and No. 28731 and Act No. 29896, which requires creation of breastfeeding areas in public and private institutions. In early July, the Ministry of Health held a unique competition in which the babies had to show who could drink the most of the mother’s milk. The competition took place in a clinic in Lima.

Learn more about the Guide to Breastfeeding Counselling: MINSA

Learn more about the top ten eating tips to facilitate breastfeeding: El Comercio

Learn more about the article by Congressman César Yrupailla : El Peruano

Click here to learn more about 2015 World Breastfeeding Week activities across SUN Countries and Networks.