Groningen Centre for Health Law

With millions of children dying each year of malnutrition, breastfeeding holds the potential to save more lives than any public health intervention on infant mortality. This unique practice, achievable at an incomparably minimal cost, has also proven to have positive health effects on lactating mothers, protecting them from, inter alia, osteoporosis and breast and ovarian cancer.

On the 24th of May, Brigit Toebes, Veronika Flegar and Lucía Berro Pizzarossa participated in the seminar “Empowerment of Refugee Women”.

Interactive event about the Empowerment of Refugee Women and Girls on 24 May 2016 at 3.30pm in Groningen.

Last 4th of March, the new General Comment No. 22 on the Right to sexual and reproductive health (article 12 of the ICESCR) was adopted by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR).

The Economist of August 15th 2015 reports that globally, Caesarian sections are on the rise. The most extreme example is Brazil, where in 2013 57% of births were by Caesarian section.

Most Dutch mothers go back to work after 16 weeks of paid maternity leave, as regulated in the Act on work and care (Wet arbeid en zorg). They carry their pump (or more often give up breastfeeding), they bring their baby to the nursery/’guestmother’ (or find other arrangements), and they try to focus on their work. It all sounds as if this is working well. But if we scratch beneath the surface, there is a lot of struggle going on in a mother’s psyche.