Breastfeeding Awareness Events Witness Wider Community Participation
Aligarh : Wider community participation was the hallmark of the World Breastfeeding Week observed by the Department of Community Medicine, J.N. Medical College, Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) recently.
According to Prof. Saira Mehnaz, Chairperson, Department of Community Medicine, several awareness activities and events were held at public places including Rural Health Training Centre (RHTC, Jawan), Urban Health Training Centre (UHTC), CHCs and PHCs.
Dr. Suboohi Afzal, Lady Medical Officer delivered a health talk at UHTC, stressing that breastfeeding is a boon for society with many health benefits for the mother as well as the child.
Dr. Asma Ashraf, Junior Resident spoke about: “Enabling Breastfeeding in Working Mothers” in which she explained breastfeeding position, latching, and signs of adequate feeding.
Dr. Saleem Mohammad Khan, Senior Resident held an interactive session, which was attended by the Junior Residents and Interns posted at UHTC. Around 40 beneficiaries, mostly reproductive age group women took part in this.
A health awareness and interactive session was held at the Urban Primary Health Centre, Jamalpurm, while a Focus Group Discussion was held at UHTC on “Challenges and Barriers faced by women related to breastfeeding.”
A group discussion among fathers was conducted at UHTC. The topic of the discussion was “Role of male partners in supporting breastfeeding” with Dr. Saleem Mohammad Khan, Senior Resident as the moderator. This was followed by a health talk by Dr. Isna Khan.
At RHTC, a health talk was delivered by Dr. Shivangi Kumari, Senior Resident at the nearby Anganwadi centre, while a Nukkad Natak at Village Sumera was performed by the interns of 2018 Batch on the importance of female education, breastfeeding, institutional deliveries, and good health-seeking behavior among family members.
An interactive session was organised at Anganwadi Centre, Panjipur. The participants were encouraged to showcase their talent based on the topic: “Breastfeeding in daily life.” The women and children sang songs, recited poems, wrote short stories, and did paintings and drawings. Prizes were distributed among the winners.
The Junior Residents of the Department of Community Medicine, Dr. Adarsh Mohan, and Dr. Syed Sohaib Hashmi visited the Wings of Desire NGO at Lal Diggi along with the PhD scholars from the Home Science Department. They did an FAQ session on breastfeeding and nutrition for the nearby residents.
A painting competition was organized among 18 students of classes 6th to 8th of Junior High School, Jawan. The students were briefed regarding the subject of paintings: breastfeeding mothers holding their babies.
A slogan writing competition was also held for the interns posted at UHTC and RHTC, on the topic “Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!”
A seminar was held at RHTC, Jawan for the resident doctors, interns, and non-teaching staff. Dr. Chandan Kumar Tiwari, Junior Resident, Mariyam Rauf, Intern and Kuldeep Bhardwaj, Intern spoke on various aspects of breastfeeding.
A sensitization session was held at Rafipur Siya village under the Family Adoption Program. ASHA and Anganwadi workers of the area, MBBS students posted for the Family Adoption program, Residents of Community Medicine Department and health workers explained the benefits of breastfeeding.
An FAQ session on breastfeeding was conducted at ASRA for Women NGO at Shamshad market. A painting competition was also organised for the middle school students at Sultan Jahan Public School and women at ASRA. The topic for the competition was: “Mother’s embrace: celebrating breastfeeding”.
In the series of events Dr. Uzma Eram, the Member-in-Charge of RHTC, visited CHC to support the early initiation of breastfeeding by mothers. She emphasized the importance of colostrum and the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of a baby’s life.
Four women who had practiced exclusive breastfeeding and ensured proper immunization for their children were felicitated during the function held at RHTC in the supervision of Dr. Uzma Eram.