Breastfeeding week observed
ALIGARH : The celebrations to mark the world breastfeeding week continued at different departments and centres of the Aligarh Muslim University and several events were organized to spread awareness regarding the significance of breastfeeding to new born babies.
At the Neonatal Division, Department of Pediatrics, JN Medical College, a workshop on “Myths and Realities of Breastfeeding” was held in association with the Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Aligarh to sensitize healthcare personnel, students, concerned staff and common people towards the breastfeeding.
Professor Kamran Afzal (Chairman, Department of Pediatrics) welcomed the guests and shed light on the history of the breastfeeding week. He also highlighted the mean features of the workshop.
In his lecture on “Breastfeeding: Myths and Realities”, Professor S Manzir Ali underlined the misconceptions related to breastfeeding and tried to convince new mothers to breastfeed their newborns right from their birth.
Professor Zeeba Zakaur Rab (Department of Pediatrics) spoke on “Complementary Feeding” while Dr Alok Kulshreshtha (President, IAP) and Dr Rajat Kumar (Secretary, IAP) expressed their views on “Breastfeeding: Boon for the Society”.
Dr Uzma Firdaus and Dr Iraj Alam Khan spoke on “Treasure of Human Milk” and “Problems during Breastfeeding”, respectively.
Professor Rakesh Bhargava (Dean, Faculty of Medicine) and Professor Shahid Ali Siddiqui (Former Principal and CMS, J N Medical College) graced the occasion as chief guests and guest of honor, respectively, who emphasized the importance of breastfeeding in ensuring child health and building a healthy nation. They also gave away prizes and certificates to the winners and participants of Quiz competition, Poster making competition and KAP Evaluation.
Kratika and Manal Khursheed, students of MBBS 2018 batch won the quiz competition while Aman Ahmad Khan and Faiz Khan, students of MBBS 2019 batch were declared winners for quiz competition and Swaleha Aslam and Laxmi Chandel won the quiz under GNM students’ category. Alisha Ali and Mahenaz were declared winners of the poster making competition.
Sister Huma, Sister Neelofer and Sister Nageena interacted with the lactating mothers to sensitize them about the healthy ways of breastfeeding. A session on evaluation of Knowledge Attitude and Practices (KAP) regarding breastfeeding was conducted by the faculty members and students of the College of Nursing, where Professor S Manazir Ali gave an interactive lecture to further educate them on various aspects of breastfeeding.