Keeping in view the fact that only 50% of the newborns in the State are breastfed by their mothers, Suneetha and Sreedevi, paediatricians at the Government General Hospital in the city, have developed an app to attend to this issue.
“Mother’s milk is extremely important for the child, as it provides immense immunity to the newborn. However, in the recent times, most parents are shifting to pre-lacteal feeds, which can have an affect on the growth of the newborn. Hence, in order to spread awareness about importance of breastfeeding, we have developed an app that will be provide all the necessary information to the mothers at their fingertips,” said Dr. Sunitha.
“The app contains explainer videos about the nature and importance of breastfeeding, pre-natal care and the requisite protein intake for the mothers as well. The app will also be of use to nurses, since they happen to the be the first lactation consultants after a pregnancy. They can inform the mother about the immediate steps that have to be taken in order to ensure that her child is healthy,” said Dr. Sreedevi.
ADVERTISEMENT
Launch
The app, which is yet to be named, was launched on the occasion of the annual Breastfeeding week that is celebrated by the Indian Academy of Paediatrics. The motto of this programme was to ensure awareness about the importance of breastfeeding to the newborns for a period of six months.
Vellampalli Srinivas, Minister of Endowments, and Malladi Vishnu, MLA, Vijayawada Central, who were the chief guests at the programme, said it was extremely important that the newborn babies received mother’s milk in order to develop strong immunity.
ADVERTISEMENT
“This government has given significant priority to the health sector in the Budget and will ensure that the awareness is spread to all the corners of the State,” said Mr. Srinivas.