Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Dec 27: A State level advocacy meet on “Ensuring Child Survival and Development by Enhancing Breastfeeding and optimal infant and young child feeding practices” was held today at the Department of Pediatrics, G. B. Pant Children Hospital.
It was organised by NRHM in partnership with Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India.
Renowned Pediatrician, Dr. Arun Gupta, who is also a member of the Prime Minister’s Council on India’s Nutrition Challenges, was the key note speaker.
He called upon the State to make serious coordinated efforts in order to increase its exclusive breastfeeding rates which are stagnant for last two decades. This, he said, is only possible through keeping good control over the baby food companies and their activities in the health sector. Further he said that women need support at birth to initiate breastfeeding within one hour and stressed on trained workforce to build confidence among women for increasing their milk supply.
For this he strongly supported the idea of a specialist counselor on Infant and Young Child Feeding in each health facility and a community level counselor in each village.
Director Social Welfare, Kashmir, Nissar Ahmad Wani in his address said that efforts to reach out to women in the field will be made through the ICDS, given the new knowledge and inputs.
Head, Department Pediatrics, Dr Kaiser Ahmad informed the group that lack of breastfeeding can increase infections and diarrhea manifold and thus malnutrition in the State.
Nodal Officer of NRHM, Dr Mushtaq promised that steps will be taken to strengthen counselling centres in the States apart from other steps being taken under NRHM.
The meet recommended establishing a Resource Centre in Srinagar and Jammu Medical Colleges, creating a state pool of trainers and trained counselors for Government and private health facilities, providing an education booklet on breastfeeding for parents during pregnancy, introducing pre-service training for nurses and doctors, training of community workers in necessary skills and monitoring by the high level committee.
These recommendations would give rise to increased rates of breastfeeding thereby reducing diarrhea and pneumonia and other newborn infections the three major killers.
The workshop was attended by over 100 participants from Departments of Health, NRHM, ICDS, /Social Welfare, Food and Drug Administration, Faculty of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology, Community medicine of GMC, Srinagar. Representation also included from most of the districts of the valley and Jammu.
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