Breastfeeding is an act of love, nourishment, and protection. Aiming to highlight the importance of breastfeeding for child development, Golden August is dedicated to encouraging breastfeeding, which is essential for preventing disease and strengthening the emotional bond between mother and baby. To ensure this support, the Rio Municipal Health Department offers comprehensive breastfeeding support, with a variety of services, incentives, and guidance for mothers and families in Primary Care units (family clinics and municipal health centers) and maternity hospitals throughout the city.
"Breastfeeding has a direct impact on reducing infant mortality, strengthening the immune system, and promoting the child's overall development. Golden August reinforces the importance of strengthening care networks that support mothers from prenatal care onward, ensuring information, support, and access. All municipal units have qualified teams prepared to provide the necessary support and guidance for safe and effective breastfeeding," says Márcio Ferreira, Superintendent of Maternity Wards.
The first week of the month is celebrated as World Breastfeeding Week, with the purpose of educating about human milk as an exclusive and essential food for babies in the first months of life. This year, the campaign theme is "Prioritize breastfeeding: Create sustainable support systems," seeking to strengthen support networks, with a focus on environmental impacts and climate change.
Breast milk is a complete food, containing all the essential nutrients for a baby's healthy development, eliminating the need for water or other foods until the first six months of life. In addition to protecting against disease, exclusive breastfeeding offers numerous benefits not only for babies but also for mothers. For women facing breastfeeding difficulties, Primary Care units offer breastfeeding support groups, where professionals teach techniques and strategies to make breastfeeding more enjoyable. In these meetings, pregnant and postpartum women share experiences, ask questions, and strengthen a network of care that goes beyond the consultation.
To care for newborns admitted to ICUs, especially premature babies whose mothers are unable to breastfeed with their own milk, the city of Rio de Janeiro has seven human milk banks in referral maternity hospitals. These maternity hospitals work in conjunction with primary care units for collection and supply. There are 39 human milk collection points in primary care units that operate under the "milk route" project, in which community health workers travel throughout the region collecting donated milk directly from the homes of lactating women.
The journey begins with the pregnant woman's follow-up at the primary care unit, where professionals identify whether the patient is producing excessive milk and encourage donation. From there, the patient receives instructions on how to express this milk, and all the necessary materials for collection are provided by the unit itself, allowing the woman to carry out the process in the comfort of her own home. That same week, community health workers collect the milk directly from the home and take it to the unit for storage. Weekly, a SMS vehicle visits the units in the region to collect the material and take it to a centralized unit, which forwards it to the local milk bank.
The milk bank's function is to store and provide pasteurized expressed human milk (PHM) to newborns admitted to the neonatal ICU who, for some reason, cannot be fed by their own mothers. It also provides support and guidance on breastfeeding. Each 300 ml container of milk can help up to 10 newborns. The donated milk undergoes a thorough quality control process to ensure it is available according to the nutritional needs of each hospitalized child, with certified quality.
Additionally, seven maternity hospitals and three primary care units are certified by the Ministry of Health to provide breastfeeding support rooms for working women, assisting breastfeeding mothers who need to return to work. Women who work near one of these units can go there to express and store milk, and can also donate milk in cases of high production. Some of the certified maternity hospitals are located near major shopping centers, such as the Maria Amélia Buarque de Hollanda Maternity Hospital, near Central do Brasil, Uruguaiana, and Saara stations; the Mariska Ribeiro Women's Hospital, located near Bangu Shopping; and the Herculano Pinheiro Maternity Hospital, next to Mercadão de Madureira. In addition, the Leila Diniz, Carmela Dutra, Alexander Fleming, and Albert Schweitzer Municipal Hospital are also certified.
Healthy women who are still breastfeeding, produce excess milk, and are not taking any medications that contraindicate breastfeeding can become donors. You can also help by donating glass jars with lids for storing milk. To find the nearest milk bank or collection point, visit: https://saude.prefeitura.rio/doacao-de-leite-humano/. To participate in breastfeeding support groups, users can find the Primary Care unit that best suits their needs at the following link: prefeitura.rio/ondeseratendido.
Special Golden August Program
14 / 08 - Leila Diniz Maternity
Location: Maternity auditorium
Time: 8h
Activities: Coffee break, discussion groups and visit to the shared accommodation, milk bank and neonatal complex.
15 / 08 - Alexander Fleming Maternity Hospital
Location: Jorge Schmidt Street Street Market
Time: 9h
Activities: Guidance on breastfeeding, milk bank, human milk donation and donation of bottles with plastic lids
16 / 08 - David Capistrano Filho Birthing Center
Location: Realengo Park
Time: 8h to 12h
Activities: Gestational art, circular dance and guidance on breastfeeding, nutrition and pregnant women's rights.
Mariska Ribeiro Women's Hospital
18 / 08 - III Breastfeeding Workshop on Breastfeeding + Sustainability
19 / 08 - Training on Good Practices in Breastfeeding Management
20 / 08 - Breastfeeding Incentive Action – Mamaço
Location: Unit Auditorium
Audience: Mothers in rooming-in + special guests
22 / 08 - Friday with the mothers
Activities: Guidance and encouragement for breastfeeding, correct latch and hunger signals
Audience: Rooming-in patients and mothers of Neonatal Unit patients
