Greece reported for the second time at the
Committee on the Rights of the Child, on the 6th of June 2012.
IBFAN had submitted an
extensive alternative
report on the situation of infant and young
child feeding in Greece. The report highlighted the many violations of the
International Code of Marketing of Breast milk Substitutes (the Code) in
Greece, and expressed concern over the lack of education on breastfeeding and
support for mothers who wish to breastfeed.
The Committee asked many questions on health, and in particular on the
situation of breastfeeding in Greece. Due to the current economic situation in
Greece, many of the questions were related to financial issues, such as how the
healthcare system will be affected by the new budget.
The Committee reminded
the delegation that breastfeeding is the most cost effective method of taking
care of children and expressed concern with the fact that less than 10% of mothers
breastfeed exclusively for the first 6 months, and only 7% continue
breastfeeding up to one year. There is a lack of support in Greece for mothers
who wish to breastfeed, as 89% of women expressed the intention to breastfeed
prior to delivery. This can be attributed to the high rate of C-sections and
the high number of free samples of formula given to mothers in hospitals. The
Committee reminded Greece that it should work on methods to support mothers who
wish to breastfeed and that no free samples of infant formula should be distributed in
health facilities in accordance with the Code.
The IBFAN report acknowledges that there are currently no baby-friendly
facilities in Greece, however two state hospitals have started the
certification process and another two are due to start it. The Committee asked
the delegation whether the hospitals would actually finish the certification
process in order to be certified as baby-friendly institutions.
The unsatisfactory response by the Greek delegation was that the formal practice of healthcare professionals is to advocate for
breastfeeding to mothers and to avoid commercial
campaigns with products that are breastmilk substitutes and that the government is unaware of informal practices in hospitals.
2 photographs of gift-packs received by post
partum women clearly showing a bottle with a rubber teat.Source: IBFAN Alternative Report.
Free gifts of breastmilk substitutes,
including bottles and teats are prohibited from the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.
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