JAKARTA: The Indonesian Association of Breast-Feeding Mothers has expressed concerns that certain elements of the law requiring mothers to breast-feed their babies might cause future problems.
It said that Article 6 which stipulates that all mothers must exclusively breast-feed their babies for the first six months may be interpreted to mean that mothers would face sanctions if they are unable to breast-feed for health concerns or other reasons, English daily the Jakarta Globe reported Thursday.
The association also feared that Article 12 of the law which says that health care workers could accept assistance from baby formula companies in certain forms, could open the door for the companies to market their products to health care workers and mothers.
It could lead to a conflict of interest for certain parties such as health care providers who are supposed to protect mothers and their children from exploitation by market interests, the association said.
Meanwhile Indonesian Health Ministry Director of Nutrition, Minarto said mothers who were unable to breast-feed for a valid reason would not be subjected to punishment.
“The spirit of the regulation is that everyone concerned, including the mother, the father and the people around them, should make an effort to create an environment that is conducive for babies to feed exclusively from breast-feeding,” Minarto was quoted as saying. — BERNAMA