Health and Family Welfare Minister Mohammad Nasim on Tuesday said there is no alternative to breastfeeding for the normal growth of infants.
The Health Minister said there is no alternative to breastfeeding for the normal growth of children as it contains essential nutrients for the infants and helps increase resistance power.
He said this while speaking as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony of World Breastfeeding Week-2016, started from Monday, at Osmani Memorial Hall organised by the Health and Family Welfare Ministry in cooperation with other donor agencies.
He said, “The government has been providing allowances and facilities under the maternal scheme, while working mothers are getting allowances from ‘working Lactating Mothers Fund’.”
Regarding the ‘breastfeeding corner’ in every office, he suggested the non government organizations would be more careful on the issue as in almost government organizations have it.
World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1 to 7 August in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.
This year the theme is ‘Breastfeeding: A key to Sustainable Development’.
Additional Secretary of health ministry Rukhsana Qader, Director General of Health Services (DGHS) Prof Dr Deen Muhammad Nurul Haque, Chairman of Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF) Dr S K Roy also spoke, among others with Secretary of the ministry Syed Manjurul Islam in the chair.
The speakers highlighted the importance of breastfeeding and homemade foods for infants at mothers’ workplaces and said “If a mother can feed her infant at workplace her baby would be healthy and the mother will also be tension-free and more sincere to her work.”
They said, “Bangladesh has succeeded in increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates among children below six months, which is an admirable achievement.”
They said that breast milk has extraordinary advantages and breastfeeding during the first months of life has a direct proven impact on a child’s survival and normal growth.
They urged the non-government organizations, banks, insurance companies, factories, shopping malls, professional bodies, trade unions and other human rights organizations to create awareness about the issue and to help mothers feed their infants at working places.
