PHCC launches awareness campaign on breastfeeding

The Primary Health Care Corporation (PHCC), in co-operation with the Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) and the Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), has concluded a campaign to educate the community about the importance of breastfeeding through the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative.
The campaign, under the theme 'Enabling Breastfeeding: Making a Difference for Working Parents', was launched by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action to mark World Breastfeeding Week.
Dr Sadriya al-Kooheji, assistant medical director for PHCC’s Child and Adolescent Health, said that, through social media, messages were shared to raise awareness about the significance of breastfeeding and its continuation upon resuming work.
The PHCC hosted a live Instagram stream to educate viewers on the significance of breastfeeding and how to maintain it after a mother returns to work.
Breastfeeding covers were also distributed to mothers to encourage them to breastfeed in public.
As part of the campaign, the PHCC organised an awareness booth at every health centre, providing printed brochures in both Arabic and English.
The PHCC, in collaboration with the Media and School Health Department, organised awareness lectures on the significance of breastfeeding at secondary schools for girls.
Additionally, an awareness-raising event was co-ordinated at Qatar University’s College of Medicine.
Dr al-Kooheji noted that breastfeeding has both immediate and lasting benefits for babies, thanks to the natural antibodies found in the mother’s milk that help protect the baby from common childhood diseases, like diarrhoea and various infections.
She urged mothers to exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months, without introducing any other foods or liquids, including water.
Once a baby reaches six months of age, breastfeeding should continue alongside the introduction of complementary foods until the child turns two.
This ensures that the mother’s milk continues to meet part of the baby’s needs during this time.
The advantages of breastfeeding extend beyond the baby’s well-being and also positively impact the mother’s health.
This is because it is a natural method for family planning and spacing out births, which protects the mother’s health.
According to Dr al-Kooheji, breastfeeding can help decrease the mother’s chances of encountering postpartum complications, as well as alleviate stress and anxiety, and prevent chronic illnesses, such as excessive obesity, heart disease, and high blood fat levels.