MODULE 4

MIYCHN-RELATED
POLICIES

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What are the different Laws or Policies
related to breastfeeding and infant
feeding?
PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

2 factors strongly affect a mother’s decision

to feed infant formula (Sobel et al., 2011):

Advertising Physicians’

exposure recommendations

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

Why is there a need for regulation?

To regulate the aggressive marketing and advertising of

milk formulas by milk companies in the Philippines

specifically marketing efforts targeted towards mothers.

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

This is the law that aims to contribute to the provision of safe and adequate nutrition for
infants

‣By protecting and promoting breastfeeding

‣By ensuring the proper use of breast milk substitutes and breast milk supplements
when these are necessary on the basis of adequate information and through
appropriate marketing and distribution

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

What products are governed by the Milk Code?

‣ Breast milk substitutes, including infant formula and milk supplements

‣ Foods, beverages, and other milk products (when marketed or represented to be suitable, with
or without modification, for use as partial or total replacement for breast milk)

‣ Bottle-fed complementary foods

‣ Feeding bottles and teats

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

What entities are being regulated by EO 51?

‣ Distributors

‣ Manufacturers

‣ Marketing personnel

‣ Marketing firms

‣ Milk companies, which can be manufacturers or distributors

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

Main Points of the Milk Code:

‣Exclusive breastfeeding is for infants from zero (0) to six (6) months

‣There is no substitute nor replacement for breast milk

‣Appropriate and safe complementary feeding should start from six months onwards in addition
to breastfeeding
‣Breastfeeding is still appropriate for young children up to (twenty-four months) two years of
age and beyond

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

Main Points of the Milk Code:

‣Other related products such as, but not exclusive of, teats, feeding bottles, and artificial feeding
paraphernalia are prohibited in health facilities

‣Government and all concerned stakeholders must continuously accomplish an information,

dissemination campaign/strategy, and do further research on the advantages of breastfeeding and
the hazards of breast milk substitutes or replacements

‣Milk companies and their representatives should not form part of any policymaking body or
entity in relation to the advancement of breastfeeding

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Some violations of Executive Order 51

Health and nutritional

claims, content of
materials

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Some violations of Executive Order 51

Gift of any sort

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Some violations of Executive Order 51

Marketing in the health

care system

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Some violations of Executive Order 51

Marketing to health
workers

Classes, seminars, and

other activities

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

A Milk Code Monitor:

‣Monitors compliance and problems encountered in the implementation of the Milk Code
‣Submits reports on the status of the Milk Code implementation to the FDA
‣Verifies reports of Milk Code violations
‣Monitors the labels and marketing practices of products within the scope of the Code at various distribution
centers
‣Carries out monitoring activities at any time, or based on specific reports/ suggestions from the FDA in their
respective jurisdictions

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

Supporting Details in Reporting Alleged Violations:

‣Date and place where the violation was found or seen

‣Specific location (health facility, store, TV ad, radio/TV channel)
‣For printed matter, get a sample or picture of the violation
‣For radio/TV ad or programs, clearly specify the airing time and TV channel or radio frequency
‣For website-based violations, provide the web link
‣For violative (ex. mislabeled or misbranded) products, a sample shall be purchased, and the receipt
obtained and submitted as part of the evidence

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 PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

How can I report a violation?

The Director

Food and Drug Administration

Civic Drive, Filinvest Corporate City

Alabang, Muntinlupa City Mother-Baby Friendly Mobile

Philippines 1781 App

• Trunkline: (+63) 2 857-1900

• Fax: (+63) 2 807-0751/ +63) 2 807-8511

• Email: report@fda.gov.ph

• Milk Code Website: https://mbfp.doh.gov.ph/reports

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Sanctions provided for EO 51 violators:

Entity Penalty

Individual
• Imprisonment of two months to one year and/or
• Fine of Php1,000 to Php30,000

• Impose the penalty for individuals on the chairman of the

board of directors, president, general manager, or partners
Corporation/ Partnership and/or persons directly responsible
• Suspension/ revocation of license, permit or authority for
pursuit of business

Health Worker
• Revocation of license, permit or authority for the practice of
profession/ occupation

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)

Is this a violation to the Milk Code?

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Are these violations to the Milk Code?

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PHILIPPINE MILK CODE OF 1986 (EO 51)
Are these violations to the Milk Code?

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 105-DAY EXPANDED MATERNITY LEAVE LAW
‣ Aims to protect and promote the rights and welfare of working women, to provide women with
ample transition time to regain health and assume maternal roles
‣ Increasing the maternity leave period to 105 days for female workers regardless of civil status or
the legitimacy of her child
‣ option to extend for an additional 30 days without pay
‣ additional 15 days for solo mothers
‣ option to transfer 7 days to the father (if married)
‣ covers workers in the informal economy
‣ For cases of miscarriage or emergency termination of pregnancy, 60 days maternity leave with full
pay shall be granted

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 EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT OF 2009

RA 10028 (Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009) which builds on RA 7600 (Rooming-in
and Breastfeeding Act of 1992) includes the establishment of lactation stations.

Why do we need breastfeeding-friendly workplaces?

‣ Mothers who invest in breastfeeding do so at the expense of losing work or income opportunities
‣ By creating breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, optimal infant feeding practices are promoted

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 EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT OF 2009
What is a breastfeeding-friendly workplace?

SPACE

TWO ESSENTIAL
COMPONENTS

TIME

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 EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT OF 2009
Why does a breastfeeding worker need to express breastmilk?

‣ She needs to express breastmilk to provide for the baby back home
‣ She needs to express breastmilk to sustain her milk supply
‣ She needs to express breastmilk to relieve the discomfort of full breasts

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 EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT OF 2009
Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009 or Republic Act 10028
Mandates all establishments, public or private, whether operating for profit or not, to support
breastfeeding in the workplace through the following provisions:

Workplace Lactation Policy

Provision of space: the Lactation Station

Provision of time: the Lactation Periods

Provision of breastfeeding information

Compliance with Executive Order 51

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 EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT
Lactation station

A lactation station is a private, clean,

sanitary, and well-ventilated room or
area in the workplace or public places
where nursing mothers can wash up,
breastfeed or express their milk
comfortably and store this afterward.

A lactating employee is any female

worker, regardless of employment
status, who is lactating or
breastfeeding her infant and/or young
child.

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EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT

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EXPANDED BREASTFEEDING PROMOTION ACT

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 KALUSUGAN AT NUTRISYON NG MAG-NANAY ACT

‣ This act scales up nutrition intervention programs in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, and
allocates resources in a sustainable manner to improve the nutritional status and to address the
malnutrition of:
(1) infants and young children from 0 to 2 years old
(2) adolescent females
(3) pregnant and lactating women
as well as to ensure growth and development of infants and young children.

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 KALUSUGAN AT NUTRISYON NG MAG-NANAY ACT
Different life stages and nutrition interventions

LIFE STAGE NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS

Iron/folic acid supplements, identification of nutritionally-at-risk, provision of

Adolescent females
RUSF/RUTF as appropriate

Nutritional assessment & counseling, IFA, iodine and other micronutrient supplements,
Prenatal period
dietary supplementation & RUSF for undernourished PW

Mother- and baby- friendly practices during labor, delivery, childbirth, and immediate
Women about to give birth and immediately
newborn care; nutrition counseling, provision of nutritious food and lactation
post-partum
management services

Nutritional assessment and counseling, iron/folic acid supplements, identification and

Post-partum and lactating women
management of CED LW, dietary supplementation & RUSF

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 KALUSUGAN AT NUTRISYON NG MAG-NANAY ACT
Different life stages and nutrition interventions

LIFE STAGE NUTRITION INTERVENTIONS

Nutritional assessment and counseling, iron/folic acid supplements, identification and

Post-partum and lactating women
management of CED LW, dietary supplementation & RUSF

Early and continuous skin-to-skin contact (Kangaroo Mother Care, or KMC), non-
Birth and newborn period (28 days) separation of mother and newborn, ensure breast milk supply for small babies born
preterm and low birth weight

Promotion and support of exclusive breastfeeding, growth monitoring and promotion,

First 6 months of life
identification and management of MAM and SAM

Promotion and support for continued BF and timely introduction of CF, dietary
Infants 6 months up to 2 years of age
supplementation

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 KALUSUGAN AT NUTRISYON NG MAG-NANAY ACT
Nutrition in the aftermath of natural disasters and calamities:

‣ LGUs are mandated to immediately provide emergency services, food supplies for proper
nourishment of pregnant and lactating mothers, and children, specifically those from zero (0) to
two (2) years old.
‣ Donations of milk formula, breast milk substitutes, and/or products covered by the Milk Code
without the approval of the Inter-Agency Committee (IAC) created under EO No. 51, series of
1986, shall be prohibited in order to protect the health and nutrition of pregnant and lactating
women, infants and young children before, during, and after a disaster.

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 RA 10410: EARLY YEARS ACT (EYA) OF 2013
‣ This recognises the age from zero (0) to eight (8) years as the first crucial stage of educational
development:
0-4 years —
responsibility of the 5-8 years —
Early Childhood responsibility of the
Care and Department of
Development Education
(ECCD) Council

‣ To promote the rights of children to survival, development, and special protection

‣ This also promotes the inclusion of children with special needs and advocate respect for cultural
and linguistic diversity, including the use of Filipino Sign Language as the visual language of the
deaf community.

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 KEY MESSAGES

The rights of infants and children to receive proper nutrition through breastmilk and the

rights of mothers to breastfeed their infants are protected by several Philippine laws and

issuances

Peer counselors and mothers should be aware of these rights and actively participate

in protecting and exercising these rights, being vigilant of and reporting violations

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