SHILLONG: The importance of breastfeeding was highlighted during a nationwide launch of Breastfeeding Promotion and Support Campaign entitled Mother’s Absolute Affection or MAA, a programme launched by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfare Minister on August 5, 2016.
Speaking to reporters at the end of the programme launch held at Ganesh Das Hospital on Friday, Health and Family Welfare Minister Roshan Warjri said, “Mother’s milk is precious and people need to be taught about its importance and benefits. There are special doctors to explain the mothers on breastfeeding as well.”
Stating that awareness campaigns on such issues need to be given prime importance, she said, “Such programmes create awareness on lactating mothers and it is important to educate them. They should know the importance of being a healthy mother during and after pregnancy.”
Warjri added that family members of a lactating mother should lend support to her by helping her realize the best food for her children.
MAA is a nationwide programme started with the aim of promoting breastfeeding as an integral part of a child’s survival intervention. Its goal is to revitalize efforts towards promotion, protection and support of breastfeeding practices.
As per National Family Health Survey (NFHS-4), in Meghalaya 60.6 per cent of mothers initiate breastfeeding within an hour of birth, with 35.8 per cent babies nurtured exclusively on breast-milk during the first six months of their lives and 67.4 per cent given complementary feeding by the sixth month.
With the launch of the programme, efforts will be intensified to improve optimal breastfeeding practices of lactating mothers in the state.
It is learnt that breastfeeding within an hour of birth can prevent 20 per cent of new born deaths and infants not breastfed are 15 times more likely to die from pneumonia and 1 time more likely to die from diarrhoea.
