NEONATAL DEATHS IN ORISSA HIGHER THAN NATIONAL AVERAGE
SAMBALPUR: Even as poor healthcare, lack of infrastructure and superstitious beliefs put the lives of 1.2 million infants at risk, every year, the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is being observed from August 1 to 7. The theme of this year WBW is "Breastfeeding in the 1st hour, early initiation and exclusive breast-feeding can save more than one million babies”. The WBW is celebrated to provide opportunity to inform people of the benefits that early and exclusive breastfeeding provides to both families and nations.
Recently there has been some good news on rates of breastfeeding. A recent study has shown that if all women began breastfeeding within the 1st hour it would save one million of the 4 million newborn deaths.
In India, 2,50,000 neonates can be saved from death annually by just this one act. Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth is thus, the first and most vital step towards reducing infant and under-five mortality. India has a present rate of 43 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births, a slight improvement since 1996 when the rate was 47 deaths per 1,000 children.
Among all the Indian states, Kerala comes closest to the world standard with neonatal deaths standing at 10 per 1,000 live births. States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra are showing a declining trend. However, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, continue to show a high trend by maintaining a rate above the national average.
Every newborn, when placed on the mother’s abdomen, soon after birth, has the ability to find its mother’s breast all on its own and to decide when to take the first breastfeed. This is called the ‘Breast Crawl’. It is nature’s miraculous way of initiating breastfeeding.
But changing role of women as contributor to the family income both in urban and rural areas are forcing women to deprieve the child of its right of being breast feed. This apart superstitions in rural areas that the initial milk contains germs and hence the new born should not be breastfed, and ignorance of the mother who feel that breast would lactate on its own and the child need not suckle continues to act as impediments. The challenge we face is to find creative and convincing ways at the community level to encourage breastfeeding and to provide them with solid evidence of the advantages of breastfeeding.
SAMBALPUR: Even as poor healthcare, lack of infrastructure and superstitious beliefs put the lives of 1.2 million infants at risk, every year, the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) is being observed from August 1 to 7. The theme of this year WBW is "Breastfeeding in the 1st hour, early initiation and exclusive breast-feeding can save more than one million babies”. The WBW is celebrated to provide opportunity to inform people of the benefits that early and exclusive breastfeeding provides to both families and nations.
Recently there has been some good news on rates of breastfeeding. A recent study has shown that if all women began breastfeeding within the 1st hour it would save one million of the 4 million newborn deaths.
In India, 2,50,000 neonates can be saved from death annually by just this one act. Initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth is thus, the first and most vital step towards reducing infant and under-five mortality. India has a present rate of 43 neonatal deaths per 1,000 live births, a slight improvement since 1996 when the rate was 47 deaths per 1,000 children.
Among all the Indian states, Kerala comes closest to the world standard with neonatal deaths standing at 10 per 1,000 live births. States such as Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Maharashtra are showing a declining trend. However, Madhya Pradesh and Orissa, continue to show a high trend by maintaining a rate above the national average.
Every newborn, when placed on the mother’s abdomen, soon after birth, has the ability to find its mother’s breast all on its own and to decide when to take the first breastfeed. This is called the ‘Breast Crawl’. It is nature’s miraculous way of initiating breastfeeding.
But changing role of women as contributor to the family income both in urban and rural areas are forcing women to deprieve the child of its right of being breast feed. This apart superstitions in rural areas that the initial milk contains germs and hence the new born should not be breastfed, and ignorance of the mother who feel that breast would lactate on its own and the child need not suckle continues to act as impediments. The challenge we face is to find creative and convincing ways at the community level to encourage breastfeeding and to provide them with solid evidence of the advantages of breastfeeding.
posted by Ratan K Pani at
5:57 AM
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