Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

“Breastfeeding topic should be included in school education”

MADURAI: The Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) is taking up steps to promote breastfeeding and encourage pregnant mothers to realise its importance for a child’s good health.

As a first step, the IAP’s Tamil Nadu chapter has decided to approach the State Government and Minister for School Education, Thangam Thennarasu to include it as a topic for adolescent education in school textbooks for classes X to Plus Two.

The issue was also highlighted as a ‘right of the child’ by paediatricians at the three-day State-level annual conference, “Madurai Pedicon 2008, which concluded here on Sunday.

S. Lakshmi Narayanan, State president, IAP (Tamil Nadu), told The Hindu that a committee of paediatricians had been formed by the academy to prepare materials for the proposed chapter on breastfeeding, which would be submitted to the Minister. The materials were being prepared both in English and Tamil so as to suit all types of schools in the State.

“Adolescent boys and girls are the future parents. They should know that breastfeeding is the first immunisation for a baby. If school children are educated on this issue and mentally prepared, it will be in the interest of our future generations,” Dr. Lakshmi Narayanan said.

Putting forth the IAP plea, he said that breastfeeding promotion was a part of nutrition education and the support of State Government would be required to push it to school level and reach out to adolescents.

The paediatricians, through a round of discussions, emphasised that mother’s milk protected child from illness and also resulted in good Intelligence Quotient level.

Dr. Lakshmi Narayanan also reiterated the IAP’s plea that maternity leave for working women should be increased from three months to six months so that there would not be any break in breastfeeding.

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