INNOCENTI DECLARATION:

To protect, encourage and support breastfeeding

The declaration has decided that:

Breastfeeding is unique method to:

Provide the best nutrition for infants, and it contributes in their healthy growth and development, it also reduces the rates of them catching infectious diseases and thus reduce the morbidity and mortality rate of children.

Lactation also has a positive impact on the mother's health for it reduces her risk in getting breast or ovarian cancer, as well as by prolonging the duration between one pregnancy and the other.

Breastfeeding has an economical and social benefits that benefits the family and the state, it also gives majority of the breastfeeding mothers a sense of confidence since they have succeeded in breastfeeding their infants.  

Recent scientific research as revealed that:

The higher breastfeeding was practiced the higher are the benefits, especially when the baby is exclusively breastfeed for the first 6 months. And the longer the baby was breast feed along with complementary nutrition. Having affirmative programs can cause a positive impact on the popularity of breastfeeding.

And for that we announce:

• In order for us to reach our global goal in providing health and nutrition to both babies and mothers, therefore all mothers must breastfeed their baby's, and that babies must be only breastfeed for the first 4-6 months after that mothers can introduce other food that is suitable until the age of two year or further (possible), for this ideal way of nutrition to be formed an enabling environment of support and awareness must be established.
• Access to this goal requires the promotion of a "breastfeeding culture" in many countries, and defending strongly against the invasion of an "artificial feeding culture". That is why commitment and support are required to drive the society as well as the use of well known powerful leaders from all walks of life,

Effort is required to lift mothers confidence in their (personal) abilities to breastfeed their infants, enabling them to feel powerful and confident will be good enough to remove restrains and negative effects that manipulate their behavior and awareness toward breastfeeding, this can be achieved by using wise and indirect methods, this matter needs to be handled sensitively, with extra caution and constant vigilance as well as the need to develop a comprehensive strategic communications plan (features quick answers and responses) by using all media available that targets all levels and groups of the society.

Furthermore, elimination of all obstacles that hinder breast-feeding, both within the health facilities, women workplaces, and in public places.

• Measures must be taken to provide adequate and appropriate nutrition, and that would ensure the ideal level of health for mothers and their families. Moreover ensure that all mothers has an access to services and information that will empower them to carry on breastfeeding, family planning, and keeping adequate spaces between pregnancies because of the damage it can cause to her health and baby’s.
• All governments should formulate and develop national polices for breastfeeding, and to set national goal that suit it for the year 1990.

Governments should also establish a system to pursuit these goals, as well as it must develop standard indicators such as measuring the rate of exclusive breastfeeding for children when leaving the facilities on the maternity services (after birth), and the rate of exclusive breastfeeding of children at the age of four months.

• National authority are demanded to integrate breastfeeding polices and merge them among polices of national health and development. In this endeavor, all efforts have to protect, encourage and support breastfeeding, Among other complementary programs such as caring for pregnancy and childbirth, nutrition, family planning services and treatment and protection form common disease of mothers and infants. There is also the necessity to train all employees in health-care services to gain needed skills to implement the policies of breastfeeding.      

Practical goals:

By the year 1995 governments have to:

• Appoint a national coordinator of breastfeeding with appropriate powers and authority , and established a national committee composed of multi-sectoral representatives from government departments, non-governmental organizations, and health personnel involved in the matter.
• Ensure that all health facilities providing maternity services fully exercise all the ten steps identified by the World Health Organization WHO, and the united nation organization children’s funs UNICEF in there statements about successful breastfeeding “ protect, encourage, and support breastfeeding: the role of maternity care services”.
• Shall fully carry out the effort apply the principles and objectives of all the articles of the International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes and subsequent resolutions of the World Health Assembly.  
• enact laws that protect the of breastfeeding working mothers, and to adopt methods that support breastfeeding.

We demand international organizations to:

• Designing strategies that aim to protect and enhance breastfeeding, including the monitoring and evaluation of international policy.

• Research supports the analysis of national situations, and the scrutiny of national goals and development, as well as practical goals.

• Encouraging and supporting national authorities in planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of breastfeeding policies.

The Declaration of the INNOCENTI has been issued by the participants in the meeting of World Health Organization and UNICEF for policy-makers on "Breastfeeding in the nineties: a global initiative” the united nation agency for international development and the Swedish international cooperation agency "SIDA" also participated and supported the declaration.

The meeting was held at the Sibadl Dhilji INNOCENTI Florence, Italy, July 30 - August 1, 1990, The "final" Declaration clearly reflect the content of the original document and the background of the meetings, and views that took place both in the group meetings or through the platform

.