Statistics state that 270,000 infants born in Uttar Pradesh (UP)
die in the first month of their birth and every sixth malnutrition child lives
in UP.
"The grim situation of infant mortality and child
malnutrition can be changed overnight if every pregnant woman in the state
ensure that her newborn gets mother's milk in the first hour of birth,"
said Dr. KP Kushwaha. A pediatrician and a great advocate of breastfeeding, Kushwaha,
head of the Department of Pediatrics, BRD Medical College, Gorakhpur, was
addressing media persons at the monthly Media for Children hosted jointly by
Media Nest and UNICEF at the Uttar Pradesh Press Club on every second Saturday
afternoon.
Kushwaha said that malnutrition will drastically bring down the
GDP and will add to 50 percent death of infants. He bemoaned the facts that
social customs and psychological mindset prevents a mother from breastfeeding
her child immediately after his birth.
"It is sad, but true that only 46.4 percent of mother's do
exclusive breastfeeding. The other 53.6 percent do not even realize the great
harm they are doing to their child, society and country," said Kushwaha,
who has passionately pursued his mission to ensure a healthier society through
mothers following the baby friendly health initiative.
Through audiovisual medium he explained the correct methods of
breastfeeding. Kushwaha said that though it is said repeatedly that breastfeeding
is a natural instinct of all mothers the truth is that it is a technique that
must be taught to a woman and for this trained counselors are essential.
Kushwaha illustrated this information with the work he and his
team have done in Lalitpur district of Uttar Pradesh. He said that the baby
friendly health initiative (BFHI) in just one a half year of initiating this
project in 600 villages the percentage of mothers who exclusively breastfed
their child was raised from a mere 6.6 percent to 50 percent.
In the same way the percentage of mother's who initiated
breastfeeding within an hour rose from 10.9 percent in November 2006 to 72
percent in April 2008.
Listing the US$80,000 billion infant food market as one of the
main hurdles that confronts the practice of mother’s milk, Kushwaha said that
there are laws against infant foods' availability and their open advertisements
but the money involved is so huge that often these laws remain just on paper.
Speaking during the occasion, UNICEF communication specialist Augustine
Veliath said that Kushwaha is the rarest of rare doctors who has through his
devotion to the cause helped save millions of children.
"His behavioral change in infant feeding pattern has
received great response not just in India but also abroad. Dr. Kushwaha is
today an authority on the issue and his 'best practice experiments' are being
used all over the world," saidVeliath.
Senior journalist and secretary-general of Media Nest, Kulsum
Talha, cited Kushwaha for raising awareness among media persons on this issue,
helping build their capacity, which is the motive of the program. (CNS)
— The author is a senior journalist and secretary of Media Nest.
She is a Fellow of Citizen News Service (CNS) Writers’ Bureau. Website: )
