In the aftermath of the powerful earthquake disaster in Haiti, the International Lactation Consultant Association (ILCA) urges health care providers and rescue workers to include breastfeeding support as a vital part of disaster relief and humanitarian aid efforts. ILCA also discourages donations of infant formula since artificial feeding can increase illness and disease in an emergency. President Angela Smith said, “Breastfeeding provides a sanitary, safe, and consistently available food source, which is vitally important during and following a disaster. Human milk also contains important anti-infective properties that protect infants from malnutrition, diarrhea, and other diseases that commonly arise during an emergency such as this tragic situation in Haiti.”

According to the Emergency Nutrition Network, artificial baby milks were distributed to 72 percent of families with infants following the December 2004 tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This predominantly breastfeeding region of the world experienced a dramatic decline in breastfeeding rates as a result and, according to Smith, the well-meaning donations of formula were linked to a tripling of the rate of diarrheal disease. Smith added that with breastfeeding, perfect nutrition for infants is always available no matter what the status of the environment. Mothers affected by a disaster can continue to make milk, even if they are stressed or malnourished. In fact, Smith says, breastfeeding lowers stress levels in both infants and mothers. In case of emergencies and natural disasters, ILCA has the following recommendations:

·         Encourage mothers to continue breastfeeding to give infants sanitary, safe nutrition, to help fight infection and disease, and to keep infants warm.

·          Feed the mother so she can feed her infant.

·         Provide a safe environment for breastfeeding or expressing milk, including providing a private area or a way to breastfeed discreetly, if the mother desires it.

·         Assist mothers who are separated from their infants with regular milk removal to maintain their milk production and avoid engorgement.

·         Provide donor human milk from a human milk bank if a mother is injured or unable to directly breastfeed.