The Ministry of Health of the Government of the Canary Islands has published a Protocol for maternal feeding in the first cycle of early childhood education, which has been carried out in collaboration between the general directorates of Public Health and Assistance Programs of the Canary Islands Health Service. This project is in line with one of the priority objectives of both management centers, "the promotion of breastfeeding from all areas."
The protocol will be distributed in digital format to all educational centers with the first cycle of early childhood education, both through the Ministry of Education and the FECAM, and will be available on the breastfeeding website.
In addition, and as a complement to this action, a poster with the Decalogue on Breastfeeding (BF) will be distributed, highlighting its benefits, to all health centers, town halls and educational centers.
Also in line with this protocol, training on Nutrition and healthy lifestyle habits will be carried out, aimed at staff of educational centers in the first cycle of early childhood education (teaching and non-teaching staff), from November 20 to December 20.
Promote and protect Breastfeeding
Promoting and protecting breastfeeding from all areas is an imperative objective in the General Directorate of Public Health and one of the priority lines of action from the General Directorate of Assistance Programs.
Breastfeeding has a protective effect on the mother and the baby, and promotes frequent and close physical contact between both, helping to create the affective bond, which is optimal for their development and makes the mother experience a great feeling of satisfaction and self-esteem. There is sufficient evidence that demonstrates the benefits of breast milk in the health and development of the infant, both in the short and long term, as well as in the health of the mother and in the benefit for society.
The incorporation of the mother into the world of work sometimes has a negative impact on the maintenance of breastfeeding. For this reason, in addition to approving laws to protect motherhood and establish breastfeeding policies in different workplaces, its maintenance must be supported and facilitated from all areas, including early childhood education centers.
Early childhood education centers and their staff are one of the key places during the separation of the mother/infant binomial for the promotion and support of breastfeeding, as well as to help establish healthy lifestyle habits.
Many babies begin to attend Infant Schools/Private Early Childhood Education Centers when breast milk is still all or most of their diet. This separation between the mother and her baby can generate a lot of stress and fear, even more so if the baby is exclusively breastfed or in the period of introducing complementary feeding.
"Offering the possibility of bringing the extracted milk to the chosen center, or even being able to breastfeed in it, can facilitate a better adaptation of the baby, as well as maintaining the feeding rhythm chosen by the family," explained the Government of the Canary Islands.
The first months and years of life are essential to introduce healthy eating safely, as well as to establish an adequate relationship with food, incorporate routines, recognize and respect satiety signals and establish healthy lifestyle habits that will persist throughout life.
This protocol also wanted to incorporate some general concepts about introducing complementary feeding in a respectful way, not only with the continuity of breastfeeding, but with the rhythms, needs and development of the child.
The main objectives of this protocol are to promote the maintenance of breastfeeding after the baby's incorporation into the educational center and to progressively adapt the feeding need to the daily rhythms of the school.
For this, strategies have been proposed in this area that contemplate the establishment of routines and guidelines aimed at a positive approach to food, favoring the initiation in the manipulation of food and the progressive changes of flavors and textures as well as the awareness of the educational staff with the physiological signals of each baby (hunger, satiety...).
