| World Breastfeeding Week | |
|---|---|
 World Breastfeeding Week 2009 Logo | |
| Begins | 1 August |
| Ends | 7 August |
| Frequency | Yearly |
| Location | Worldwide |
| Years active | 35 |
| Inaugurated | 1991 |
| Participants | Governments, Organization, Individuals |
| Website | Official Homepage |
| In the Support ofBreastfeeding | |
World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an annual celebration which is held every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 120 countries. According to the 26 August data ofWBW website[1], 540 events have been held worldwide by more than 79 countries with 488 organizations and 406,620 participants for theWorld Breastfeeding Week 2010.[2][3][4][5]
Organized byWorld Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA), theWorld Health Organization (WHO), andUNICEF, WBW came up with the goal to promoteexclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life which yields many health benefits, providing criticalnutrients, protection from deadlydiseases such aspneumonia and fostering growth and development for the first time in 1991.[6]
World Breastfeeding Week was first celebrated in 1992 byWABA and is now observed in over 120countries byUNICEF[7],WHO[8] and their partners including individuals, organizations, and governments. WABA itself was formed on 14 February 1991[9] with the goal to re-establish a global breastfeeding culture and provide support forbreastfeeding everywhere.[10]
WHO and theAmerican Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) emphasize the value of breastfeeding for mothers as well as children. Both recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life and then supplemented breastfeeding for at least one year and up to two years or more.[11][12] WBW commemorates theInnocenti Declaration made by WHO and UNICEF in August 1990 to protect and support breastfeeding.[8]