World Breastfeeding Week is observed from August 1 to 7 globally.

City-based Coimbatore Children’s Hospital would spread awareness about breastfeeding during this week. It would also highlight the need to promote and normalize breastfeeding in our communities.

Dr. Karthick Annamalai, Consultant Pediatrician and Neonatologist of Coimbatore Children’s Hospital, said that the hospital would break several misconceptions about breastfeeding. The hospital aimed at maximizing the breastfeeding rates in the city.

If numbers provided by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) are to be believed, only 41 per cent of Indian mothers initiate early breastfeeding and only 46 per cent of the mother’s exclusively breastfeed their baby for six months. “Lack of awareness and substituting breast milk with baby food products are the only reasons for low breastfeeding rates in our country,” Dr. Annamalai said. He added that the World Health Organization (WHO) has identified poor infant feeding as a risk factor for survival of the child. WHO also estimates that 53 per cent of pneumonia and 55 per cent of deaths due to diarrhea are attributed to poor feeding practises during the first six months after the child is born.

“Breastfeeding significantly improves the health, development and survival of infants and children. It also contributes towards the well being of the mother and the child,” he added.