World Breastfeeding Week - Celebrating Breasts of the World

For theworld tobegin celebrating breastfeeding milestones, we mustbegin to incorporate breast-health and breast-careinto the dialoguessurrounding adolescent health.

After all,adolescents willbecome the sources of nurturing for the future populations of the world and the impact of their inability toparticipate in this natural process, can potentially affectgenerations.

If we do notadjust the dialogue surrounding breastfeedingand include it as a women's breast-health essential, the world would have missed out on an opportunity to contribute to keeping our populations bothaware and healthy.

Can you imagine a world without breasts? A worldaffected and infected by numerous breast ailmentsboth heard and unheard of?

This would absolutelyaffect the capacity to provide sustenance for the newborn; would spell a global catharsis.

Breastsremain theprimary naturalsourceof nourishmentto the world and especially to the under 3-year-old population.

Breastfeeding has been proven to have numerous nutritional, healthand socioeconomic benefits to the world and theresearch continues to substantiate a case for exclusive breastfeeding and its benefits to the mother,the newborn child, the health-sector and the economy.

However, there is need to open a new dialogue,thatstarts way beforebreastfeeding and way before women are potentially diagnosed with any breast ailments. There is a huge gap between these two phases in a woman's lifecycle and it must be urgently addressed.

How do wesupport the open dialogueabout healthy breasts and encourageitto become an active part of the reproductive health dialogue? How do we allow the world's newborntotruly benefit from breastfeeding andaddress women's health in a complete fashion?How can we collectivelyreference early detection, self-examinations, screening andthe overallstatus of breast-health in our world?

How can we make breast-care andbreast-health asocial narrative that references itsconnection to adolescent health, puberty, teen development; all with the goal towards securing long-term overallwomen's health and by extension reproductive and maternal health by way of healthy breasts?This is a start to thestirringup of aperfect blend for a global breastfeeding celebration, starting today.

The type ofdiscussions we encourage,allowadolescents to become more aware of feminine health andself-care as a means of honing their potential for being the food source of the future.

Why this early discussion? Well, simply because, breastsare a foundational aspect of adolescent development, adolescent health, reproductive healthand maternal health, yet breast-health is mostly included in siloes ofdialogues surrounding and exclusive tooncological health. The scary stuff that many don't want to talk about and that feels like discussions for older and more matured audiences.

Whilst oncological healthremains a critical situation globally;infiltrating gender gaps, socio-economic gaps and not exclusive to any particular geography or race, there is still a gap in discussions thatcan potentiallyincorporate complete breast-health as a way of life and transcend age,politics, gender, economicsand geography. Potentially carvingopportunities for a healthyandbetter informed globalpopulation.

Our role as breast-health advocates and thought-leaders, has been to spurn the dialogues thatform a more inclusive agenda, in support of healthy breasts as a social-impactdialogue with good outcomes based on our specially designed models of education forthe diverse communities we serve.

This way, morewomen, girls and mencan organically become a part of these conversations and it can become an open discussion beyond taboos and fear.

Breasts are beautiful,they are important, they are universal, yet they are unique in shape and size, based ongenetics and geography.

Breasts are also challenged.Challenged by cancers, infections, mammary duct ectasia,mammary hypoplasia, mammaryhyperplasia, fibroadenoma, galactorreah, mastitis, bra discomfort, surgical traumasand a plethora of other "unfamiliar" breast ailments and situationsthat in some instances, might have begunduring adolescence.

Overour years as thought-leaders and critical researchers on all things breast, Ms. Brafit www.msbrafit.com hasbecome thego-to resource for women, girls, communities, medical professionalsand families, as we support, educateand provide solutions forboth clinical and non-clinical breast matters.Our capacity to share this information as part of our speaking engagements, has allowed us to be sought out for delivering on the vast subjects of breast-care in diverse global settings.

A mammoth yet humblingendeavorof being associated with breast-care, whichhas brought us in close contact with breasts at all stages of a girl's and woman's lifecycle.

From thedeveloping teen, tothe expectant mother, to the newly diagnosed;our interaction has allowed us to make dedicated strides incorporating thediscussion of breast-health as a first-response to the waysocietyperceives the "vessels" that are responsible forholding the sustenance of the future.

At a recent global health forum,having the distinct pleasure of being in the same roomwith Melinda Gates, it was inspiring to be a participant inher sharing of the world's aspirations for women's health and to the Gates Foundation's contributions to investments in women's health and to access to breast-milk and nutrition.

There were many dialogues and displays focused on adolescent and maternal health and reproductive health. However, it was disheartening to notice the limited breast-health references during thefour dayforum,with thesolereference on breasts,confined to cancer.

There has been a plethora of research, discoveries and documentation about breastfeeding, but as Breast-Care Specialists, it is criticalto intervene and open a dialogue about the true catalyst for access tobreastfeeding; healthy breasts.

Globally, there are manychallenges thatprevent women from being able to breastfeedtheir newborn babies.There are also risks to some babies health by way of breastfeeding, due to mother-to-child infections, such as in cases of HIV.

While we strive for a healthy world and work towards ending hunger, the population of global citizens under the age of 3 years, have the hugest challenge. Their nutrition is critical to their growth, development andhealth. Access toa natural food source of breast milkis literally a gift from nature.

Have you ever stopped to imagine a world where there are no breasts? A world where the newborn baby has no access to milk and where women by virtue of their capacity to nourish and nurture a newborn child, is prevented from doing so?

The new narrative has to become more inclusive and offer access to the younger populations in a dialogue that is of global health significance.

Follow us on Twitter @msbrafit @shesgotiton for insights on All Things Breast.

www.msbrafit.com is a Woman OwnedSocial Enterprise in the Caribbeanthat focuses on Global Women's Health as a catalyst for social-change.

Our resources includeBreast Care Solutions via Education Toolkits, Seminars, Workshops andSpeaking Engagements.