Awareness programme held to mark World Breastfeeding Week
The Indian Academy of Pediatrics and the Rotary Club launched World Breastfeeding Week in Dharwad with an awareness program. Experts emphasized the nutritional benefits of breast milk and the importance of early initiation to improve infant health outcomes.
Why it matters
Promoting breastfeeding is a critical public health intervention for reducing infant mortality and strengthening immunity against childhood diseases.
The Indian Academy of Pediatrics (IAP), Dharwad branch, in association with the Rotary Club of Seven Hills, launched World Breastfeeding Week with an awareness programme at the Civil Hospital in Dharwad on Saturday.
Speaking on the occasion, senior paediatrician T.A. Shepur said breast milk was the most natural and complete source of nutrition for newborns and played a key role in healthy growth and development.
He said breastfeeding helped in protecting infants against infections such as diarrhoea and pneumonia, strengthened immunity and reduced the risk of several childhood illnesses.
Dr. Shepur urged mothers to initiate breastfeeding as early as possible after delivery and called upon healthcare professionals to provide timely counselling and support to new mothers.
IAP Dharwad president Kavan Deshpande emphasised the importance of initiating breastfeeding within the first hour after birth.
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