An emergency is an event or series of events that represents a critical threat to the health, safety, security or wellbeing of a community or other large groups of people, usually over a wide area. Emergencies can be natural disasters (e.g., earthquake, drought, epidemic) or human-made (e.g., civil war, explosion, nuclear spill), sudden or slow onset and short-term or protracted. Anderson and Gerber (2018) describe an emergency as an event disruptive enough to affect the normal function of a community (e.g., town or nation) and significant enough that the affected community cannot cope with the impact using its own resources. In more developed countries, support usually comes from national or local organisations (local/ national emergency). Where international support (humanitarian assistance) is required to meet the basic needs of a population, it is a humanitarian emergency.

The impact of an emergency depends on the nature of the event and the preparedness and vulnerability of the population. Emergencies are commonly characterised by human suffering, loss of life and a deterioration in living conditions. Mass population movement and/or displacement may occur, increasing the risk of family separation. Public health infrastructure may be destroyed and health systems and services disrupted, partially because healthcare professionals - including those who normally provide breastfeeding counselling - may themselves be affected. Community networks and family support are often disrupted. Breastfeeding support - including counselling - may therefore be limited, discontinued or become inaccessible. Daily stressors and increased exposure to traumatic events, including gender based violence (GBV), often cause mental health and psychosocial wellbeing to decline, impacting caregiving capacity. Access to food, shelter, safe water, sanitation and medical care may be limited and the basic necessities required to keep infants and young children safe from harm, illness and death may not be readily available or accessible. The possible impact of an emergency on breastfeeding is further discussed in 4.4 - ANTICIPATORY BREASTFEEDING COUNSELLING.

Women and children, especially pregnant girls and women, infants and young children and postpartum women, are populations that are extremely vulnerable in emergenciesvi. Breastfeeding provides children with hydration, comfort, connection, high quality nutrition and protection against disease, shielding them from the worst of emergency conditions. This ability has been described as empowering and healing by some breastfeeding women. Breastfeeding also has important consequences for maternal mental health, physical health and caregiving capacity, as well as long-term child development and educational attainmentxii. Emergency contexts increase the importance of breastfeeding and increase the morbidity and mortality risks associated with not breastfeeding. Yet breastfeeding practices are often negatively impacted by emergencies and undermined by emergency responders (see 4.4 - ANTICIPATORY BREASTFEEDING COUNSELLING).

Breastfeeding is a human right. Women and their children also have the right to support that enables them to breastfeed. Breastfeeding counselling is a lifesaving intervention as it helps to mitigate the impact of an emergency and ensure that breastfeeding is started and continued. Failure to protect breastfeeding during emergencies has detrimental consequences. Providing skilled support for breastfeeding is therefore a priority action during emergencies as outlined in the Sphere Humanitarian Charter and Minimum Standards in Disaster Response.