To celebrate the National Breastfeeding Awareness Month in August, the online support group of over 250,000 mothers called “Breastfeeding Pinays” is hosting Hakab Na! 2018. Now on its sixth year, Hakab Na! 2018 will gather breastfeeding families, lactation experts, peer counselors, and breastfeeding advocacy supporters, to boost awareness of the health and economic benefits of breastfeeding, promote the importance of providing proper support to breastfeeding mothers and ultimately, create a breastfeeding nation. It will be held on August 5, 2018 (Sunday) at SMX Convention Center Manila, Pasay City.
Simultaneous Breastfeeding
Central to the event celebrations is the act of mothers simultaneously breastfeeding their children en masse.
In 2017, the Philippines logged a total of 4,775 mom-and-baby pairs breastfeeding in 25 areas across the country. The Manila event in Araneta Coliseum had the highest number of participants with 1,686 mothers and over 5,000 in attendance. It was also the culminating event of the ASEAN Breastfeeding Forum.
For Hakab Na! 2018, Breastfeeding Pinays is expecting approximately 2,000 mothers in the SMX venue alone. There are over 40 event venues across the country holding simultaneous breastfeeding activities on August 3, 4 and 5.
Breastfeeding mothers are also encouraged to hold their own Hakab Na! events at home, in their barangays, schools, or any place where they can convene. They will participate in the online social media campaign with the hashtag #hakabna2018.
Foundation of Life
This year’s celebration will also highlights the theme of the World Breastfeeding Week: Foundation to Life.
- Breastfeeding improves the health and well-being of women and children and is the foundation of a country’s development and future. It is the great equaliser that can help break the cycle of poverty.
- With no additional burden on the household income, breastfeeding is a low-cost way of feeding babies and contributes to poverty reduction.
- Breastfeeding also prevents hunger and malnutrition in all its forms, and ensures food security for babies, even in times of crises.
- Nutrition, food security, and poverty reduction are fundamental to achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.#
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