“It is lamentable, this intention of the Government (…). The criticism of breastfeeding beyond the age of two, besides being uninformed, ignores the legal, scientific, and social foundations that support it,” stated a joint press release from the Portuguese Association of Certified Lactation Consultants, the Portuguese Association for Women’s Rights in Pregnancy and Childbirth, the Breastfeeding Movement in Portugal, the Observatory of Obstetric Violence, the Portuguese Association of Obstetric Nurses, and the European Breastfeeding Medicine Association.
According to the signatory associations, the announced measures “contradict the promotion of birth rates” in Portugal, “constituting a disincentive,” and violate international guidelines, namely those of the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child and the World Health Organization, as well as rights enshrined in Portuguese legislation.
The statement highlights the lack of evidence attesting to “adverse effects of continued breastfeeding during childhood” and urges the Ministry of Health and the Directorate-General for Health to take “a clear and unequivocal stance in defense of breastfeeding individuals, combating misinformation and the stigma associated with continued breastfeeding.”
The Government’s proposal introduces a limit of two years on work leave for breastfeeding purposes, whereas the current law allows this period to extend “as long as breastfeeding lasts,” with no maximum limit.
Additionally, it will require the presentation to the employer of a medical certificate proving the breastfeeding situation, “10 days in advance of the start of the leave period,” and this document must be renewed every six months “as proof that [the mother] is in a breastfeeding situation.”
Currently, no certificate is required until the baby is one year old, nor is there any stipulated frequency for subsequent breastfeeding proof, leaving it at the employer’s discretion.
For part-time workers, the proposed reform removes the safeguard that adjusting the breastfeeding or nursing period in relation to work hours cannot “be less than 30 minutes.”
