World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is an international campaign that aims to raise awareness around, promote, and support breast/chestfeeding initiatives globally.

The 2023 theme for WBW is “Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a difference for working parents” with efforts focusing on advocating for essential maternity rights that support breast/chestfeeding. Currently, fewer than half of infants under 6 months of age in the world are exclusively breastfed.

According to the WHO, more than half a billion working women are currently not given workplace lactation protections in national laws. Only 20% of countries require employers to provide employees with paid breaks and facilities for breast/chestfeeding or expressing milk.

Basic workplace provisions for lactating employees should include a time, space, and policy for lactating in the workplace.

The goal of WBW this year is to:

• Inform people about working parents’ perspectives on breastfeeding and parenting,

• Anchor optimal paid leave and workplace support as important tools to enable breastfeeding,

• Engage with individuals and organizations to enhance collaboration and support for breastfeeding at work, and

• Galvanize action on improving working conditions and relevant support for breastfeeding.

Learn more about the work being done to improve breast/chestfeeding globally at the following websites:

• WHO

• World Breastfeeding Week