World Breastfeeding Week : Government focusses on promotion of breastfeeding

Activities like Annaprashan Ceremony and Quiz competition on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) are being conducted in 30 states and union territories through 43 community food and nutrition extension units of Food and Nutrition Board, involving the state functionaries of health department, home science colleges, medical institutes, universities, NGOs and other stakeholders.


Devdiscourse News Desk | New Delhi | Updated: 02-08-2019 17:53 IST | Created: 02-08-2019 17:53 IST
World Breastfeeding Week : Government focusses on promotion of breastfeeding
Breastfeeding to an infant Image Credit: ANI
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The government has focused protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding during this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) from August 1 to August 7 with a theme “Empower Parents, Enable Breastfeeding”.

The Food and Nutrition Board, Ministry of Women and Child Development, is organizing a number of activities on the theme.

Activities like Annaprashan Ceremony and Quiz competition on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) are being conducted in 30 states and union territories through 43 community food and nutrition extension units of Food and Nutrition Board, involving the state functionaries of health department, home science colleges, medical institutes, universities, NGOs and other stakeholders.

The objectives of the WBW are to create awareness among the parents about breastfeeding, encourage parents to adopt breastfeeding, creating awareness about the importance of initiation and exclusive breastfeeding, adequate and appropriate complementary feeding and providing advocacy material about the importance of breastfeeding. Breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. It prevents infections like diarrhoea and acute respiratory infections in early infancy and thus reduces infant mortality. It decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.

It further protects infants from obesity-related illnesses, diabetes and increases IQ. The correct norms of infant and young child feeding are initiation of breastfeeding within an hour of birth, exclusive breastfeeding for first six months of life that is only breast milk ‘NO’ other milk, food, drink or water, appropriate and adequate complementary feeding from six months of age while continuing breastfeeding and continued breastfeeding up to the age of two years or beyond. The WCD Ministry has organized various activities during the WBW including symposiums for lactating mothers and Anganwadi workers to create awareness about the importance of breastfeeding, annaprashan ceremony of babies at Anganwadi centres by collecting beneficiaries from adjoining anganwadi centres, competition on nutritious recipes and quiz competitions.

Apart from this, exhibitions, on nutrition, displaying low-cost nutritious diets for infants and young children will also be organized at the grassroots level. Awareness generation on healthy eating, maintenance of hygiene and sanitation and its importance will be held for pregnant and lactating mothers. In addition to this, awareness programmes will be held at the village level through puppet shows, skits, dance and drama, films, slide shows and rallies.

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