The seminar titled “ Breast-Feeding -Healthy Mothers and Healthy Babies” was organized at the School of Nursing, Civil Hospital, here on Wednesday.
It was stressed that breast-feeding is an integral component of good child-care, contributing to healthy growth and psychological development.
Sindh health secretary, Khalid Latif Chaudhry, speaking on the occasion, said that the government had launched the Women Health Project with the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and it is progressing at a faster pace in Sindh in comparison with the other provinces.
He said the project laid great emphasis on health education, awareness creation and advocacy for women as the government was deeply committed to elevating the status of women in the society,”. “Apart from the Women Health Project which is focussing on 4 districts, we have another project on women’s right to life sponsored by the Columbia University and UNICEF covering the districts of Hyderabad, Sanghar and some towns of Karachi,” he added.
Project director Prof D.S. Akram, informed that several programmes had been designed in Sindh during the World Breast- Feeding Week.
“There are four programmes to be conducted in Karachi at the Civil Hospital, the Aga Khan University Hospital, the Lyari General Hospital and the Baqai University. Seminars have also been planned in Sukkur, Larkana, Hyderabad, and Mirpur Khas.
According to her Pakistan will soon be ranked among the first of the few countries to start the baby-friendly initiative. Sindh has managed to get declared 63 of its hospitals as baby-friendly and a total of 68 such institutions exist across the country.
Dr Akram said that maternal milk contains 80 % water in addition to natural mineral and Vit A which help children grow during the initial six months. “In Pakistan more than 40 % mothers bottle-feed their children but this is risk-prone as it causes pneumonia and diarrhoea which are identified as major sources of child mortality”, she added.
Medical superintendent CHK, Dr Naushad Sheikh said: “Scientific studies have now established beyond any doubt that breast-feeding contributes immensely towards the health and psychological development of both the mother and the baby. Furthermore, exclusive breast-feeding for about six months and its continuation thereafter with complementary foods has salutary effects on children” he said.
Popular TV and stage artist, Bushra Ansari, speaking on the occasion, regretted that women in general were not fully conscious of the nutritional value of the mother’s milk. She urged nurses and paramedics to play their due role in regard.
Chairperson Lactation Management Programme Sindh, Prof Dure-Sameen Akram, talked about the Community Oriented Medical Education (COME) Programme to be introduced in different medical colleges of the country.
She said the programme initiated in collaboration with the World Health Organization aimed to efficiently modify the existent theoretical approach of medical undergraduates and sought their involvement in accordance with community needs.
“For many years the emphasis has been on babies’ health, now equal attention should be paid to the health of mothers as only healthy mothers can bear and rear healthy babies”, she said.
Later the Sindh health secretary distributed prizes and certificates among the course participants of the Lactation Management Programme. —PPI\APP