TRIHMS Celebrates World Breastfeeding Week

Our Correspondent

Itanagar: Arunachal Pradesh Health & Family Welfare Secretary Juhi Mukherjee on Saturday stressed on the need for breastfeeding for the physical and mental development of a child.

Breastfeeding is not the responsibility of mother alone but one and all – the father, brother and father-in-law and the society, Mukherjee said in her inaugural address to the maiden World Breastfeeding Week celebration by Tomo Riba Institute of Health and Medical Sciences (TRIHMS) at Naharlagun near here on Saturday. It should be recognized by policymakers the way Chief Minister Pema Khandu has given importance, Mukherjee also the state NHM mission director, said while explaining her experience as mother of two children.

Soft care of mother makes a huge difference, she said and recalled a mother whose child not sleeping in midnight was seeking help through a five-member lactating mothers’ WhatsApp group of which she was a member. Admitting the problem in India, she said it is time we need to stand up to support breastfeeding for growth of healthy children.

Earlier, head of department of orthopedics Prof G Guna Sing, while highlighting why, when and benefits of breastfeeding for optimum growth of the child, said that the child should be given exclusive breastfeeding for six months which should be continued with supplementary feeding with love and tender care for two years when the brain fully grows. Pointing out that 90 per cent of mothers are not giving breastfeeding after about six months but reverting to artificial feeding making 80 lakh Indian children malnourished to die, he regretted.

When 5,416 species of animals are nourished on the earth by breastfeeding without anyone teaching, Prof Sing advocated breast feeding for human beings to save one lakh children dying for want if it annually. He hoped that the TRIMHS would turn a breastfeeding role model involving all stakeholders.

TRIHMS Director Dr Moji Jini called for attitudinal change about breastfeeding and assured proper planning in the hospital for giving proper environment for mothers to breastfeed their children. He called upon all head of departments to collect models from various hospitals to implement in TRIHMS, while Dean Prof T Joykumar stressed that mothers should not deviate from breastfeeding being a natural phenomenon.

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