On 1 February 2011 the Cid dos Santos Amphitheatre hosted the launch of the bookUm Acto de Amor (An Act of Love), authored by Professor Leonor Levy, a paediatrician and specialist in breastfeeding, and a member of the National Committee “Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative”.

In the book, the author provides answers to a series of questions on the topic, explaining the importance of breastfeeding and how it works to readers in general and to mothers in particular.

There are several pictures illustrating the various ways and positions to breastfeed. The book offers practical advice (particularly how to avoid or solve problems related to wrongly holding the baby or mastitis), makes suggestions on healthy eating for breastfeeding mothers, the drugs that should and should not be taken during this period, as well as throwing light on some myths associated to lactation. It also advises on the best way and when to wean babies and go back to being an active professional.

Dr. Manuel Pina, President of UNICEF Portugal, joined by Rita Ferro Rodrigues, a journalist and TV presenter who had a baby recently, and by Margarida Damião, from the publisher “Esfera dos Livros”, sat at the table in a very elucidating, appealing and extremely good humoured session.

Before the launch of the book, described as the guide containing “everything you need to know to breastfeed your baby successfully”, the session was marked by statements made by Doctor Levy, namely when she affirmed that despite Portugal’s adherence to the Code of Ethics on Substitutes for Breast Milk, Feeding Bottles and Teats about 30 years ago, in order to protect and encourage breastfeeding, there are still many hospitals which are not baby friendly in this particular area.

 

The author reminds us in the book that “the aggressive advertising of milk producing companies managed to meet its goal in the 1950s and 1960s, when it went as far as to demand evidence of the supremacy of breast milk over cow’s milk”, which was one of the causes for diminishing breastfeeding practices”. This type of campaigning is forbidden. However, according to the author, “all one needs to do is visit some maternity wards to notice the various references to brands selling artificial milk, feeding bottles and teats”. In addition, some maternity hospitals offer mothers of newborns packages with free offers of this kind of products.

 

Miguel Andrade
Instituto de Introdução à Medicina (Introduction to Medicine Institute)
mandrade@fm.ul.pt
ext. 44542