The room grows quiet as a newborn’s first cry cuts through the air. Within moments, the baby is placed gently against its mother’s bare chest, fingers unfolding as it adjusts to the world outside the womb. Guided by instinct, the newborn slowly turns towards the breast in search of its first feed. It receives colostrum, the thick, golden first milk filled with nutrients and antibodies that help protect the most vulnerable new life. This is the “golden hour”. The first hour after birth, when skin-to-skin contact and the early initiation of breastfeeding can support bonding and give a newborn a strong, sustainable start to life. It is a moment that appears simple and natural, yet for many mothers across the Caribbean, it is not guaranteed.

World breastfeeding week has been celebrated August 1st-7th every year since 1992 initially started by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA). This celebration highlights the importance of breastfeeding to growing infants. 

Breastfeeding is an essential part of life. The World Health Organization (WHO) has coined the theme for world breastfeeding week, 2026 as, “Breastfeeding is a sustainable start to life: strengthen what works”. Breastfeeding is a key start to human life and essential for proper development.  It not only benefits the baby but also the mother. It promotes immunity, fewer infections, lower risk of sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and essential bonding between mother and child. For breastfeeding mothers it reduces stress, enhances bonding with baby and promotes overall well being through burning calories and enhancing uterine contractions. 

As reported by UNICEF in 2023, 4 out of 10 infants under the age of six months are breastfed in the Caribbean and Latin America, falling short of the global average of 65%. This is a concerning statistic as even though there are increasing campaigns surrounding the benefits of breastfeeding as highlighted by Trinidad and Tobago’s extensive Ministry of Health campaigns, the question must be asked: why aren’t more mothers breastfeeding throughout the Caribbean? Is it due to lack of spaces to promote proper breastfeeding? Is there an unsaid stigma surrounding breastfeeding? Or is there still a lack of awareness and understanding surrounding its benefits?

Plausible solutions to this can be to create breastfeeding centers at maternal wards, similar to the PAHO initiative, Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, that is active throughout 35 countries in the Americas including Trinidad and Tobago, Jamaica, Guyana and Grenada that is aimed to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. Campaigns can also be made available to rural communities to enhance their awareness such as by being in person thereby ensuring all demographics are targeted and not only for those with easy access to material. Community health nurses support are also needed throughout the Caribbean because after awareness is realised challenges at a community level including workplace inhibition to maintain breastfeeding after maternity leave must be addressed. 

Breastfeeding is essential for the proper health of both mother and infant and should therefore be promoted in a way to target all groups of mothers to ensure a sustainable start to life. 

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Aaliyah Lara is a member of Healthy Caribbean Youth from Trinidad and Tobago and a medical student at the University of the West Indies, St Augustine with a strong passion for the advocacy of non-communicable diseases and reproductive health, especially in young persons.