World Breastfeeding Week is a global event celebrated every August. This year's theme, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), is "Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All." The campaign celebrates the diversity of mothers throughout their breastfeeding journeys and showcases how families, societies, communities, and health workers can support every breastfeeding mom.
In the Philippines, several communities also celebrate breastfeeding for the whole month of August. As a nursing mom for five years now, I can say that I have been an advocate of breastfeeding. Throughout this beautiful yet challenging journey, I believe that it's essential to have support groups and communities for new mothers. When I became a new mom in 2018, my knowledge about breastfeeding expanded, thanks to these groups.
These groups are incredibly helpful for overwhelmed first-time mothers facing challenges like proper latch, nursing position, and other breastfeeding difficulties.
List: Breastfeeding Support Groups in the Philippines
1. Breastfeeding Pinays
With over 350,000 members, Breastfeeding Pinays is one of the pioneering online communities for breastfeeding in the Philippines. This online community comprises mothers, fathers, trained breastfeeding peer counselors, breastfeeding experts, and specialists in infant, child, and maternal health care.
Breastfeeding Pinays aims to provide accurate information, support, and encouragement for mothers who want to breastfeed, return to breastfeeding (relactation), or learn correct information about breastfeeding.
Moms in the community frequently ask for recommendations on pediatricians, milk boosters, and other breastfeeding-related queries. Some moms also seek tips on complementary feeding, weaning, increasing breastmilk supply, and more.
Join Breastfeeding Pinays here.
2. Pumping Inays
The Pumping Inays group was founded by Danah Ivey C. Morales in 2020. She is a full-time working mom at a government bank and a part-time business crafter. Mommy Danah has also been exclusively pumping for her two-year-old child. She began vlogging about breastfeeding and pumping during the pandemic, which led her to create a community that is accessible and beneficial to all moms who want to pump and breastfeed.
"The idea was driven by the thought that in the United States, it is normal for moms to breast pump at home, at work, or anywhere, and that's what I want to normalize and educate more inays in the country," she shared.
She hopes to instill empowerment within the moms in her group by providing a space for moms to share their experiences as breastfeeding and pumping moms, and even host giveaways as a way of giving back to the members.
"A community where they call home. A community where they can be themselves. A community where they feel welcomed," she added.
3. Yokabed - Home of Lactating Moms
Mommy Tin Cervantes is the owner of Yokabed, a lactation center that provides massage services to lactating moms. She has been a breastfeeding counselor for 15 years but only established the Facebook page in August 2022.
Yokabed was established to cater to the needs of breastfeeding moms during the pandemic, where strict protocols made it difficult for lactation counselors to enter condominiums, villages, and even provinces due to checkpoints.
Mommy Tin emphasized the importance of advocacy, noting that her heart is focused on helping moms and their little ones receive emotional support during their postpartum days. She added, "Being in the breastfeeding community will never be about business. We also become 'breastfriends' with our mom members, and often, best friends even outside the breastfeeding community. I believe this is one of the important supports we offer, letting them know they're not alone."
4. Arugaan
The co-founder of Arugaan is Nanay Ines Fernandez, who has been involved in promoting breastfeeding and nutrition since the 1980s. In 2015, Arugaan was recognized by Ashoka, a US-based organization that recognizes innovative social entrepreneurs.
Arugaan offers various services, such as breastfeeding counseling, lactation massage, and relactation. It also trains families, community peer mothers, employers, and businesses to protect and promote breastfeeding, as well as provide consultation for implementing the Philippine Milk Code (Executive Order 51).
5. Smart Parenting Village
With over 106,000 members, including Filipino moms and dads, the Smart Parenting Village has become a safe space to discuss breastfeeding, parenting, and more. This group is for first-time parents who want to limit the number of communities and groups they join but still desire a welcoming environment where they can ask questions and share their stories on breastfeeding and other parenting topics.
Recent discussions on breastfeeding in this group include a mom seeking help with transitioning to bottle feeding and another mom dealing with a situation where her helper nursed her child without her knowledge. In this moderated group, parents are encouraged to be kind to all members and respect each other's opinions. After all, we are all on this parenting journey together.
Join Smart Parenting Village here.
As a nursing mom for over five years now, I know how important it is to be vocal in our advocacy to promote breastfeeding, as new moms gain confidence from the encouragement of more experienced moms.
It takes a village to raise a child, but it also takes a village to support a breastfeeding mom.
Read the story of a mom who received negative comments about breastfeeding, like "Wala ka bang pambili ng gatas?" and how she overcome it, here.
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