The Bermuda Hospitals Board has teamed up with the La Leche League of Bermuda (LLL) to celebrate World Breastfeeding Week next week.

Joining 120 countries around the world, the two groups will host an open house on Monday at the Maternity Ward of King Edward VII Memorial Hospital from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in order to raise awareness about the importance of breastfeeding during the first year of a baby's life.

The theme for the 2008 awareness week is 'Mother Support: Going for the Gold' which calls for new mothers to achieve the gold standard of infant feeding.

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), this standard includes exclusive breastfeeding for the baby's first six months and recommends for women to continue nursing along with feeding their babies complementary foods for two or more years.

"We know babies who are breastfed according to WHO guidelines are healthier," said Christine Virgil, acting programme manager for the Maternal Child Programme at the hospital.

"They have lower risks of respiratory illness, digestive distress, ear infections and allergies. And babies who are breastfed exclusively for the first six months have lower rates of obesity, diabetes and cardiac disease both in childhood and as adults. Breastfeeding also reduces the risk of breast and ovarian cancers in women."

The reality, however, is that the majority of women in Bermuda are not breastfeeding their babies exclusively for the first six months, according to Lena Ostroff, chairperson of LLL.

"While many mothers intend to nurse their babies, we know breastfeeding rates in Bermuda are very low. And the number of women in our community exclusively breastfeeding for six months is less than one per cent.

"This directly translates into higher incidences of illness among our infants and children and increased healthcare costs for all of us," she said.

According to WHO, breastfeeding provides the best possible start in life in all areas of development whereas artificial feeding is associated with a higher rate of deaths in babies. Early initiation and exclusive nursing can save more than one million babies globally.

Some of the most commons reasons women don't breastfeed are the difficulties that come along with returning to work, the doubts that might prevent a woman from believing she has the ability to nurse, the lack of support and inconsistent information about nursing that is available.

"When mothers receive accurate and consistent information from healthcare providers, support from community resources and encouragement from relatives and friends, breastfeeding rates increase," said Mrs. Virgil. "Everyone benefits when mothers are supported in achieving the gold standard in infant feeding."

Expectant parents, mothers, babies and healthcare providers are invited to attend the Open House and meet with representatives from both the maternity ward and LLL, who will be available to answer breastfeeding questions and address concerns.