The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

Speakers at a workshop yesterday laid emphasis on achieving cent per cent breast-feeding for infants to help them grow healthy and intellectually. They said it could also potentially save the country from importing powder milk in exchange of foreign currency.

“There is no alternative to breast feeding for infants that could help save million of infants lives annually,” they said at the workshop on “ Secure Nutritious Diet and Save Children’s Lives” jointly organised by Save the Children, UK and Eminence and online newspaper The Editor at the IDB Bhaban in the city.

Maskwaith Ahsan, editor of The Editor gave the welcome speech, while Prof MQK Talukder, child specialist and chairman, CWCH, presided over the programme.

Dr Khurshid Talukder, research coordinator, CWCH, Prof Soofia Khatun, general secretary, Bangladesh Breastfeeding Foundation (BBF), Prof Fatima Parveen, director, Institute of Public Health and Nutrition (IPHN), Dr Shamim Hayder Talukder, chief executive of Eminence, among others, took part in the discussion.

Speakers were of the opinion that media could play a significant role in creating mass awareness of the importance of breast-feeding and quality of diet and nutrition for saving millions of children lives annually.

They said that there is no problem of breastfeeding of mother who are even carrying Hepatitis B virus.

Prof Kurshid Talukder said the mother’s milk protects infants from diseases like pneumonia, renal failure and anaemia and above all it helps develop mother and infant’s health.

“Mother’s milk is much better than cow’s milk,” he mentioned. He said the holy Quran also urges us several times to breast-feed our infants.

Prof MQK Talukder said if we want to see our new born babies to grow healthy then we must ensure them proper nutrition and breast milk.

It is mentioned that about 14 lakh children die every year across the globe due to lack of awareness of breast-feeding.

The workshop also recommended to constantly breastfeed infants until six months of the age and to give homemade complementary food till the age of 2 years.