Natividad Relucio Clavano (1 October 1932 – 4 October 2007) was a

Filipino Filipino may refer to: * Something from or related to the Philippines ** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines. ** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...

pediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

. As chief of pediatrics at

Baguio Baguio ( , ), officially the City of Baguio ( ilo, Siudad ti Baguio; fil, Lungsod ng Baguio), is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", ...

General Hospital, she studied the benefits of

breastfeeding Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...

over

infant formula Infant formula, baby formula, or simply formula (American English); or baby milk, infant milk or first milk (British English), is a manufactured food designed and marketed for feeding to babies and infants under 12 months of age, usually prepar ...

and reformed the model of care provided to newborns and their mothers.

Biography

Clavano was born in

Manila Manila ( , ; fil, Maynila, ), officially the City of Manila ( fil, Lungsod ng Maynila, ), is the capital of the Philippines, and its second-most populous city. It is highly urbanized and, as of 2019, was the world's most densely populate ...

on 1 October 1932 to an upper-class family. She completed her medical studies at the

University of Santo Tomas The University of Santo Tomas (also known as UST and officially as the Pontifical and Royal University of Santo Tomas, Manila) is a private, Catholic research university in Manila, Philippines. Founded on April 28, 1611, by Spanish friar Miguel ...

in 1957. She travelled to

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in 1974 for postgraduate research; she intended to study

asthma Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, cou ...

in children but her research supervisor, David Morley, convinced her to focus on causes of

infant mortality Infant mortality is the death of young children under the age of 1. This death toll is measured by the infant mortality rate (IMR), which is the probability of deaths of children under one year of age per 1000 live births. The under-five morta ...

in Filipino babies. At the time in the Philippines, newborns were typically removed from their mothers after birth and placed in a nursery where they were fed

. Attitudes towards formula-feeding were beginning to shift in western medicine, and a boycott was launched against Nestlé in the 1970s and 1980s in favour of

. When Clavano returned to work in

—where she later became head of paediatrics at Baguio General Hospital—she reformed the model of care provided to newborns and their mothers. Newborns were no longer fed a starter-dose of formula, mothers and babies were placed in the same hospital rooms, mothers were encouraged to breastfeed on demand rather than on a timetable, and nurses were retrained to recognise normal breast milk stools (which were often mistaken for diarrhoea). Clavano led a study of 10,000 babies born at Baguio General Hospital in the 1970s, comparing those born in 1973–75 (when the majority were formula-fed) and 1975–77 (when the majority were breastfed). The study showed a significant reduction in rates of death,

sepsis Sepsis, formerly known as septicemia (septicaemia in British English) or blood poisoning, is a life-threatening condition that arises when the body's response to infection causes injury to its own tissues and organs. This initial stage is follo ...

, diarrhoea, and

oral thrush Oral candidiasis, also known as oral thrush among other names, is candidiasis that occurs in the mouth. That is, oral candidiasis is a mycosis (yeast/fungal infection) of ''Candida'' species on the mucous membranes of the mouth. ''Candida albica ...

. Clavano advocated for breastfeeding internationally, and her research work "gave foundation to a global movement" according to Patti Rundall of Baby Milk Action. She spoke at an enquiry chaired by U.S. Senator

Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...

in 1978, and her research was used to support

UNICEF UNICEF (), originally called the United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund in full, now officially United Nations Children's Fund, is an agency of the United Nations responsible for providing Humanitarianism, humanitarian and Devel ...

's Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative, which promotes breastfeeding in hospitals. Within the Philippines, she contributed to the passage of the 1986 Philippine National Milk Code and the 1992 Rooming-In and Breastfeeding Act. She was made a Commander of the

Order of the Golden Heart The Order of the Golden Heart (''Orden ng Gintong Puso'') is an order of the Philippines. History Created by Executive Order 40-A dated June 21, 1954, the Golden Heart Presidential Award was upgraded to the Order of the Golden Heart by Executiv ...

in 2006. On 4 October 2007, aged 76, she died from a respiratory illness.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Relucio-Clavano, Natividad 1932 births 2007 deaths Filipino pediatricians Breastfeeding activists Medical doctors from Manila People from Baguio University of Santo Tomas alumni 20th-century Filipino medical doctors 21st-century Filipino medical doctors Filipino health activists Filipino women activists