Sabay-sabay, Sumuso sa Nanay

Simultaneous breastfeeding started out as a protest that mothers resort to when they are admonished not to breastfeed in public. The act’s popularity rose to become a form of celebration during occasions like the World Breastfeeding Week.

Children for Breastfeeding in partnership with the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) and Technical Education and Skills Development Authority (TESDA) will stage Sabay-sabay, Sumuso sa Nanay on May 2, 2007 at 10:00 a.m. in more than 40,000 daycare centers nationwide. They will create the first Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in Multiple Sites.

The Sabay-Sabay, Sumuso sa Nanay will be institutionalized as an annual form the national prayer of thanksgiving for motherhood and breastfeeding. Nurturers of the Earth, the event organizer, built this website in partnership with MSWEB Network.

In 2006, Children for Breastfeeding in partnership with the City of Manila broke the Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in a Single Site when they gathered 3,541 mothers at San Andres Sports Complex and Civic Center in Malate, Manila. In cooperation with Nurturers of the Earth, UNICEF and the Department of Health, they broke the USA record of 1,130 mothers in Berkeley, California.

Sabay-sabay, Sumuso sa Nanay: A Short History

Two International Board Certified Lactation Consultants (IBCLC) in the Philippines, Children for Breastfeeding Director Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra, MD, FPDS, RPh, IBCLC and Nurturers of the Earth Director Nona D. Andaya-Castillo, IBCLC spearheaded the breaking of the Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding in a Single Site last May 4, 2006.

Being members of World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and the International Babyfood Action Network, the two IBCLCs also ensured that milk companies and manufacturers of babyfood products and equipment like bottles, teats and pacifiers will be out of their affairs. They have always upheld the international standard of ethics that breastfeeding promotion, protection and support should be free from the involvement of milk companies, related equipment like bottles, teats and pacifiers and other babyfood products.

Guinness World Records specified a set of guidelines to break the record. It included the prohibition of bottles, teats and pacifiers during the attempt. The organizers ensured this strictly through a rigorous inspection of bags during the affair. The IBCLCs want to send a clear message to mothers that they should breastfeed exclusively and breastfeed beyond two years old.

It all started in February 2005, when UNICEF Country Representative Dr. Nicholas K. Alipui overheard Sec. Ignacio Bunye over the radio that the number 2 consumer commodity in Metro Manila is formula milk. Aware of the deaths and diseases associated with formula feeding, he issued a plea to concerned citizens to avert this trend and called the formula milk menace a “death sentence to Filipino children.” 

The two new IBCLCs immediately responded to his call. Previously, they tried to present their innovative ideas on how to support, promote and protect breastfeeding to several people in power but it was Dr. Alipui who truly listened to them. They presented their credentials to him and immediately moved with urgency.

Dr. Henares-Esguerra sought the help of her father Hilarion “Larry” Henares, a Presidential Consultant on National Affairs who joined the team. With his typical acerbic humor, he called the team “the Trinity of the Father, the Daughter and the Holy Bones” and brought the issue to the portals of power: a Senate Hearing, two preparatory meetings with the National Anti-Poverty Commission and the Presidential Cabinet meeting that tackled Infant and Young Child Feeding. 

The team also asserted their right to participate in two Bureau of Food and Drug (BFAD) public hearings and the meetings of the Technical Working Group organized by DOH. They initiated a Congress hearing that gave impetus to more Congress hearings and other promotional activities that put the breastfeeding issue upfront with regular front page treatment in newspapers and columns.

The Henares family had a dinner in Malacanang (the President’s Official Residence) with the President where the two IBCLCs took the opportunity to talk to the President about the breastfeeding situation in the country.

With their perseverance, they were able to convince President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to declare August 1-7 as World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) last August 1, 2005 in Malacanang. They organized the event within ten days mobilizing about 700 participants, a record-breaking crowd since the Rizal Hall can only occupy not more than 500 guests. The event broke many protocols in the palace to let mothers dressed in house clothes and their babies in. 

During the preparations for the Malacanang event, the team approached Mayor Lito Atienza and challenged him to break the Guinness World Record on Simultaneous Breastfeeding. Without any hesitation, the Mayor who is known for his pro-life advocacy promised the Malacanang crowd and the President that he will break the record.

During the simultaneous breastfeeding event, the IBCLCs made sure that mothers who are breastfeeding four and five year old kids were breastfeeding onstage when the countdown began. They also gave an award to the oldest breastfeeding mom, Rosanna Robles who at the age of 51 is still breastfeeding her 5-year old daughter. They challenged the crowd if there is an older breastfeeding mother than Robles so they can also give an award to her but she remained unbeaten.

A mother who breastfed while pregnant and mothers who pursued breastfeeding while working outside the house were interviewed during the affair to debunk breastfeeding myths. There was also a parade of slings to popularize its use as an aid to breastfeeding.

Before the event, the IBCLCs gave orientation seminars to the health workers of the City emphasizing the core messages and the objectives of the affair. They also ensured that all give-aways for the participants will not contain any product of milk companies by explaining it through letters and dialogues to the City employees and the Mayor himself.

During the program and the press conference, the IBCLCs explained to mothers that there is an international boycott of Nestle’ products and also exposed the industrial errors especially the 30 million liter contamination that happened in Europe in 2005. They warned them of accepting free milk donations.