World Breastfeeding Week celebrations begin
Staff Reporter, Thursday, Aug 02, 2007

PUDUCHERRY: 'Breastfeeding: The 1st Hour - Save One Million Babies' is the slogan of the World Breastfeeding Week, being held from August 1 to 7. Wednesday saw the conduct of a rally for mass awareness of the issue, which was flagged off by Social Welfare Minister M. Kandasamy from Anna Statue.
Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Kandasamy said that initiating breastfeeding within an hour could save the lives of babies, and was a very necessary thing. Health Secretary T.M. Balakrishnan, A. Thirunavukkarasu of the Food and Nutrition Board, and S. Tamilmani of the Directorate of Field Publicity were present on the occasion.
Students of Tagore Arts College and Vetri Venkateswara College participated in the rally, which was organised by the Food and Nutrition Board, Department of Women and Child Development, Directorate of Field Publicity and the Rotary Club of Pondicherry Aurocity.

S. Srinivasan, director, professor and head, Department of Paediatrics, JIPMER, said that scientific research had shown that every year around 25 lakh children under the age of five die in India and that malnutrition is directly or indirectly responsible for about half of these deaths. Exclusive breastfeeding can prevent 13 percent of these deaths. He added.

Dr. Srinivasan, who is the zonal coordinator of the Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India (BPNI), a non-profit organisation, said that a study on the status of infant and young child feeding in the Union Territory conducted by the BPNI gives the percentage of initiation of breastfeeding within one hour as 24.3 percent, within one to four hours as 37.2 percent, exclusive breastfeeding from zero to three months as 29 percent, exclusive breastfeeding from four to six months as 15.8 percent.