WWRC marks World Breastfeeding Week with community programmes

Women’s Wellness and Research Center (WWRC), part of Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC), in recognition of World Breastfeeding Week, is holding  awareness and advocacy events until August 7. The events will be held  between 10am and 1pm, at WWRC until August 7 and between 4pm and 9pm today at Qatar National Library.The WWRC runs a daily breastfeeding clinic from 9am-11.30am in the Outpatient Department. Every year during World Breastfeeding Week, HMC joins the global community to highlight the significant health benefits of breastfeeding. This year, the week is being held under the theme ‘Empower Parents. Enable Breastfeeding.’Increasing the number of babies being optimally breastfed could prevent hundreds of thousands of child and maternal deaths around the world each year, according to World Health Organisation (WHO). Dr Amal Abu Bakr, lead lactation consultant and chairperson of the Breastfeeding Committee at WWRC, stresses that breast milk provides protective immunity against infections and chronic diseases like obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and childhood leukaemia.“Breast milk contains all the nutrients that are needed for a child’s optimal growth and development. The cholesterol and fatty acids in breast milk are scientifically proven to promote strong immunity and higher intelligence in children. The WHO states that more than 823,000 child and 20,000 maternal deaths could be avoided each year if we strictly implement optimal breastfeeding, especially among babies up to six months of age. The WHO also recommends that babies should continue to be breastfed for up to two years of age with the addition of timely, healthy, supplementary foods,” said Dr Abu Bakr.The term optimal breastfeeding refers to the practice of exclusive breastfeeding (breastmilk with no other foods or liquids) for the first six months of life, followed by breast milk and complementary foods from about six months of age on and continued breastfeeding for up to two years of age. Dr Abu Bakr notes that scientific evidence has proven that breastfeeding is also beneficial to a mother’s physical and emotional health. She says breastfeeding strengthens the bond between mother and child, aids in postpartum recovery, reduces the risk of postpartum bleeding, anaemia, breast and ovarian cancer, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and osteoporosis during menopause. There is also less postpartum anxiety and depression among breastfeeding mothers compared with those who do not breastfeed.“At HMC, we offer our mothers access to skilled practical help from our staff who have been trained to provide breastfeeding support and to help build mothers’ confidence, improve their babies’ feeding technique, and prevent or resolve breastfeeding problems,” noted Dr Abu Bakr.