World Breastfeeding Week (1-7 August) aims to raise awareness of the global challenges and opportunities associated with breastfeeding. The campaign is aligned with the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals, particularly the following goals and targets:

• SDG 2: Zero Hunger: Breastfeeding is crucial for improving infant nutrition and preventing malnutrition, which directly supports the goal of ending hunger and achieving food security.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: Breastfeeding promotes healthy growth and development, reduces infant mortality, and protects against infectious diseases, contributing to overall health and well-being.
• SDG 5: Gender Equality: Supporting breastfeeding promotes gender equality by recognizing and supporting women’s role in child-rearing and ensuring workplace policies and social systems support breastfeeding mothers.
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: Promoting breastfeeding helps reduce health disparities, especially in low-income and vulnerable populations where access to safe, nutritious food might be limited.

This year’s theme, 'Prioritise Breastfeeding: Creating Sustainable Support Systems' focuses on the effect of environment and climate change on breastfeeding. This blog highlights Springer Nature content relating to breastfeeding and aims to promote content on how we can prioritise and support breastfeeding.

Research Articles

• Economic and environmental impacts of commercial milk formula in Indonesia: estimates and comparisons using the Cost of Not Breastfeeding, Green Feeding, and Mothers’ Milk Tools | International Breastfeeding Journal
• Breastfeeding rates in Israel and their health policy implications | Israel Journal of Health Policy Research
• Diet at birth is critical for healthy growth, independent of effects on the gut microbiota | Microbiome
• Reach and impact of a nationwide media campaign in Ethiopia for promoting safe breastfeeding practices in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic | BMC Global and Public Health
• Fathers’ work leave and infant breastfeeding in a state-representative sample of fathers in Georgia, United States | BMC Public Health
• Investigating the impact of breastfeeding difficulties on maternal mental health | Scientific Reports

Collections

Check out our collections in International Breastfeeding Journal:

• Donor Human Milk in the 21st Century: Policy, Practice, Innovation, Equity, and Impact
• Breastfeeding in the setting of violence or abuse
• Advancing Breastfeeding Promotion, Protection, and Support for Better Health, Economics, and Planet

ISRCTN Registry

• Exploring the benefits of early Kangaroo Mother Care on breastfeeding and growth in newborns who are 2500 grams or more birth weight
• Benefits of using an online consultation nursing for the monitoring and establishment of breastfeeding 
• The Breastfeeding Study: Prevention of early breastfeeding cessation in mothers and infants

Research Communities Blogs

Check out other blogs from across the Research Communities, touching on topics relating to breastfeeding and sustainability, including:

• This blog from International Breastfeeding Journal Editor-in-Chief Prof Lisa Amir, showcasing research published in the last year across the globe.
• A Behind the Paper blog by Dr Richie Dalai on her research on 'Breastfeeding Success With Use of Electric Breast Pump Versus Inverted Syringe Technique in Lactating Women With Inverted Nipple: Open Labelled Randomized Control Trial'
• A  Behind the Paper blog by Dr Ying Jin & Dakota Sykes that highlights the findings of a study investigating the lived experience of six mothers who used Pasteurised Donor Human Milk  from Whāngai Ora Milk Bank.
• Highlights from the BMC Series journals that explore topics relating to exclusive breastfeeding, milk donation to human milk banks, and the roles of community pharmacists and artificial intelligence in supporting breastfeeding.

This World Breastfeeding Week, we recognise that it's vital to carry forward the awareness and advocacy sparked during this global event. Breastfeeding is a public health imperative that benefits mothers, infants, and entire communities. Insights from Springer Nature continue to underscore the importance of protecting, promoting, and supporting breastfeeding through evidence-based policies and inclusive healthcare practices.

Happy Breastfeeding Week!