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Region Three…
Breastfeeding week of activities concludes with
walkathon
The walkathon in progress yesterday
The activities of Breastfeeding Week came to an end yesterday at the West Demerara Regional Hospital with the hospital’s Administrator, Ms Bhoomatie Surujdin, pledging continued support to the Region Three National Breastfeeding Committee.
According to Ms Surujdin, the committee was outstanding in its preparation and execution of the several activities which were undertaken during the week.
Regional Health Officer (ag), Dr Millicent Benjamin, emphasised that the activities were fashioned in such a way as to sensitise the general public on the importance of providing support to mothers of babies and the public at large.
And, as the final act of the week yesterday, members of the committee and other staffers of the hospital took to the streets to participate in a walkathon.
They started off at the Crane Turn, and were preceded by a truck bearing a boom box which blasted songs and messages related to breastfeeding for the benefit of the public.
The walk, which commenced just after 09:00hrs, saw a gathering of scores of people who were all decked out in breastfeeding T-shirts, except Regional Chairman, Mr Julius Faerber, who also attended the activity.
Their arrival at the hospital marked the end of the vibrant walk and the commencement of the Breastfeeding Week’s closing ceremony.
At that forum, Director of the Ministry of Health’s Food Policy Department, Ms Norma Howard, highlighted breastfeeding facts which should be addressed, including that mothers face many challenges, both in and out of the home.
However, she pointed out that “believing in oneself” is a key ingredient of success for the mothers, but this can only be fully realised with support from various circles, including the family and health workers.
According to Ms Howard, breastfeeding counsellors are crucial to serve as a guidance factor to mothers in the art of breastfeeding in terms of mothers helping their babies “to latch on to the breast,” and hence creating a situation for bonding.
Ms Howard also did not fail to commend the outstanding work of the committee, which she believes has been very successful in delivering the message of how important it is that mothers be supported in order to sustain breastfeeding practices.
In a brief overview of breastfeeding activities in Region Three, Coordinator of the Committee, Nurse Savitri Chandrabose, said that the committee came on stream in the year 1994 with the expertise of several nurses.
The Committee, she said, has since come a far way, with the West Demerara Hospital becoming a ‘baby-friendly’ hospital, a status which has been attained by only two other hospitals – Wismar and Suddie.
Under the theme: “Support Breastfeeding, Give our children the “Golden” start in life”, Breastfeeding Week commenced last Sunday, and will culminate today.
According to Nurse Chandrabose, the use of the word ‘golden’ in the theme was chosen to stress that breast milk is as precious as gold, which is a metal cherished by many.
It was for this reason, she noted, that the entire week of activities was centred on highlighting the many ways in which mothers can be adequately supported.
The activities, however, merely came as a boost to the sustained efforts that the committee has been undertaking throughout the year to highlight the importance of breastfeeding babies, Nurse Chandrabose asserted.
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