Media Release
Mangaluru, Aug 2: The Father Muller Medical College and Hospital and the Father Muller College of Nursing jointly conducted the inauguration of the Breastfeeding Week awareness programme on Thursday, August 1.
The chief guest for the event was Dr Poornima J, senior specialist, Community Health Center at Mulki and Lady Goshen Hospital. The guests of honour were the new and expectant mothers of the OBG wards of the Father Muller Medical College Hospital. The invited dignitaries were Fr Richard A Coelho, director FMCI, Fr Rudolph R D’SA, administrator FMMCH. Dr Nagarathna G, professor and head, department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, welcomed the gathering.
Fr Richard A Coelho in his presidential address, congratulated the sister institutions in collaborating to bring out such a campaign and the efforts put in to organise this week long awareness drive. The director said that God’s greatest gift to humanity was that of children and that how it was said to be a curse to be barren in yesteryears, but, now with science and technology many can get the gift of a child. He said that children are God’s gift to the family and all rejoice on seeing this gift.
“The child needs all the attention but at the same time good nutrition, which the mother only can provide, i.e., breast milk is necessary. Many people are not aware of this fact either due to lack of knowledge or the time constraint due to work. They provide poor nutrition by supplements rather than the milk of the mother. This derives the child
not only of physical growth but also the psychological and spiritual growth. When the child is held by the mother at her breast the child connects with the mother and gets all the required sensations to get a holistic growth,” he said. He was pleased to see a large crowd of new mothers in the audience and wished them wellness of health and blessings for their children. Further he appraised the gathering of the week long initiative by the institution and its peripheral units in creating awareness in this regards to the society at large so that more and more people become aware and that mothers become armed with knowledge and this event becomes meaningful and fruitful in their lives. He was grateful to Dr Poornima J for accepting this invite and also to speak on this issue at the event.
Dr Poornima J, the chief guest and speaker, reminded the fact that as doctors, after a delivery, forget to explain and counsel the mothers about breastfeeding leading to improper nutrition of the infant. “It is very important to breastfeed the child within one hour after deliver, be it normal or through c-section, as it helps stimulate the production for breast milk through hormones generated which stimulates the brain to expedite lactation. There is a misconception of feeding the first milk – colostrums, being bad, but it is the one which contains the immunity building blocks for the child which the mother passes on from her to the child. There is the urgent need of the doctors and the nursing aids to learn the concept of latching for better feeding of the infant, which needs to be told to new mothers. Mother’s milk is the only total
food for the child for the first six months. Child deaths have taken simply in the name of no breast milk by the mother, which is false, as every mother generates enough milk for the sustenance of her child. The more one breastfeeds her child more milk generates. For a day or two both the mother and the child struggle to breastfeed but on the third day they get accustomed to it. Myths regarding breastfeeding should be addressed and scientific methods should be brought forth,” she said. She explained to the doctors and mothers importance of breast feeding and the importance of the mother’s milk. “Feeding bottle and milk substitutes are now slowly being banned to inculcate the habit of breastfeeding,” she said and enumerated the advantages of breastfeeding in child spacing too. She enthralled the audience by her simplistic reasoning to wavering myths. The session was well appreciated by the doctors and mothers.
The talk was followed by the prize distribution of the poster competition judged by Dr Soumya (Community Medicine) and Anusha Fernandes by Fr Rudolph Ravi D’Sa, administrator, Father Muller Medical College Hospital.
First place: Sharon Maria
Second Place: Vijetha AS
Third Place: Binu AS
Sr Janet D’Souza, chief nursing officer, presented the certificates of participation to the poster competitors.
The vote of thanks was proposed by Dr Preetham Tauro. The event was sponsored by Meditek India and compered by Ramya Shree, lecturer OBG, FMCON. The convenor of the programme was Reena Frank. Fr Ajith Menezes, administrator, Father Muller Medical College, Dr J P Alva, dean, Father Medical College Hospital, and Dr Devina Rodrigues, vice principal, Father Muller College of Nursing, were present. Breastfeeding week is being celebrated from August 1 to 7 at Father Muller Medical College Hospital.