Thousands support early breast-feeding

Agnes Winarti, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta

Thousands of pregnant women gathered Wednesday in the Plenary Hall of the Jakarta Convention Center.

A small group of them sang a rendition of a popular song, replacing the lyrics with: "Aku takut, bayiku tidak diberi ASI. Aku takut, bayiku menjadi anak sapi. Aku takut, bayiku menjadi kurang gizi."

The lyrics roughly translate as, "I'm afraid, if my baby doesn't get breast-fed. I'm afraid, if my baby becomes a calf. I'm afraid, if my baby doesn't get enough nutrition."

During Wednesday's event, about 1,800 pregnant women and midwives from 42 districts in Jakarta's five municipalities and Thousand Islands regency pledged to initiate early breast-feeding right after childbirth.

"There's no better place for a newborn infant than on her mother's bare chest," said pediatrician and chairwoman of the Indonesian Lactation Center, Dr. Utami Roesli.

"Let the baby instinctively crawl by herself and find the mother's nipple, at least within an hour after delivery," explained the doctor, who has campaigned for the past several years for early breast-feeding.

"First-hour breast-feeding can prevent up to 22 percent of newborn deaths," Utami said.

The latest research on early breast-feeding by a team of researchers, led by Karen Edmond of the UK, published in scientific journal Pediatrics in March 2006, shows 22 percent of neonatal deaths of 10,947 breast-fed infants in Ghana could have been prevented had all infants been breast-fed within the first hour.

But early breast-feeding alone is not enough to reduce the infant mortality rate, Utami said. She said it should be followed by six months of exclusive breast-feeding, and then breast-feeding with additional food until the age of 2.

"If mothers took all three steps the mortality rate of children under five in the country could be reduced by up to 41 percent," she said.

In Indonesia, this would mean saving the lives of some 30,000 children each year, while globally, up to one million lives might be saved.

According to a 2005 WHO report, an infant dies every six minutes in Indonesia, while a child under the age of five dies every two-and-a-half minutes.

Farida, a midwife at a public health center, or Puskesmas, in Cipinang Besar Selatan, East Jakarta, said she started introducing early breast-feeding about two or three years ago.

"Most of my patients come from low-economy families. They are enthusiastic about breast-feeding because it can cut the expenses for buying expensive baby formula," said Farida, who has worked as a midwife since 1993.

According to Utami, buying formula can cost Rp 3.3 million per baby per semester.

It is estimated that every six months, more than Rp 18 trillion is spent nationwide for formula milk.

Nasiah, 25, who is 8 months' pregnant, said she originally planned to feed her baby with formula, because she worked long shifts in a factory.

"I've changed my mind. I will breast-feed, although it probably won't be easy since I'm working."

State Minister for Women's Empowerment Meutia Hatta, Jakarta Governor Fauzi Bowo and his wife, Tatik F Bowo, who is an ambassador for the early breast-feeding initiative in Jakarta, were present during Wednesday's ceremony.

"We feed infants processed cow milk for the sake of practicality. We must stop doing that," Fauzi said.