The decline in breast-feeding rates in the 20th century is due to lack of proper support in health care systems, social taboos, cultural barriers and lifestyle choices among other reasons, said Mohammad Nauman, deputy technical advisor, Food and Nutrition Board (FNB), Ministry of Women and Child Development, here on Friday.
Addressing a gathering of post-graduate students from the Home Science department of the Queen Mary’s College at a symposium on feeding practices for infants and young children organised by the Community Food and Nutrition Extension Unit of the FNB, in collaboration with QMC, Nauman said: “We need to sensitise people and tell them that artificial baby food, such as baby formula is not as good as breast milk.”
Nauman said that the symposium, coinciding with the World Breast Feeding Week 2012, focused on reviewing national policies about breast-feeding to bring about an impact and to control infant mortality, morbidity and malnutrition among children. “We can do this by sensitising State-level officers, grassroots level functionaries and the community at large through various activities,” he added.
The symposium will have three technical sessions with lectures by professors and doctors on the themes of breast-feeding, government policies and challenges faced by working women. K R Seethalakshmi, Principal, Queen Mary’s College also spoke.
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