The AiW hosted a webinar dedicated to raising awareness about the importance of lactation and providing women with the support they need to breastfeed confidently and safely. The discussion, led by Dr. Bahia Abdallah – Assistant Dean and Nursing Director at LAU – successfully debunked common misconceptions surrounding breastfeeding and shed light on its physiological, emotional, and social dimensions.

The session emphasized how informed lactation support contributes not only to maternal and child health but also to gender equality and the recognition of caregiving as essential work.

In her welcome speech, Myriam Sfeir, Executive Director of the AiW at LAU, stated:

“As an institute, we developed our project regarding parental leave in collaboration with LAU, and we are the only institution in the country to offer fifteen weeks of maternity leave compared to the standard ten weeks, as well as ten days for new fathers – ensuring that care work is shared between both parents.”

She then introduced Dr. Bahia Abdallah not only as an Assistant Professor and the Assistant Dean at the Alice Ramez Chagoury School of Nursing, but as a lactation specialist and activist, a dear friend of the institute, and a member of AiW’s steering committee.

In addition to efforts to reform maternity and paternity leave laws, Sfeir noted:

“In February 2025, we established a lactation room at the Beirut campus, and we are striving to create one at the Byblos campus as well.”

For her part, Dr. Abdallah acknowledged LAU’s unique child-centered policies. Her engaging and informative talk highlighted the importance of involving fathers during the breastfeeding period.

She explained that breast milk contains more than 400 components, whose interactions are vital for brain and neurological development. “It boosts immunity and vision, is rich in proteins—notably DHA—and enzymes, and is irreplicable industrially or found in other mammals,” she noted.

Dr. Abdallah emphasized that the child needs an environment similar to the mother’s placenta—one that provides nutrition, immunity, and emotional support—explaining that “this environment is the mother’s chest.”

“Children are prone to catching diseases due to their natural tendency to explore. Breast milk provides the needed immunity. During the first six months of a child’s life, exclusive breastfeeding is ideal.”

She further noted that breastfeeding has been shown to contribute to higher IQ levels and is particularly crucial for premature babies.

Another key point Dr. Abdallah highlighted was that skin-to-skin contact regulates the baby’s temperature, reduces anxiety, decreases the risk of breast engorgement, and promotes uterine involution.

She also shared that children who are not breastfed are more susceptible—according to years of research and field experience—to intestinal and chest infections, lower IQ, childhood cancers, type 1 and 2 diabetes, obesity, allergies, asthma, eczema, middle ear infections, sudden infant death syndrome, poor jaw development and speech, and impaired gustatory function.

At the end of the insightful discussion, when an attendee expressed the pressure mothers often feel to breastfeed and how it is not always a feasible option, Dr. Abdallah acknowledged the challenges many mothers face. However, she encouraged them to consider the long-term benefits of breastfeeding, emphasizing that they outweigh the immediate difficulties.