Fernandez Champions Circle of Care this Breastfeeding Week
What binds this entire week together is the belief that breastfeeding must be prioritised not only in hospital policies, but in public health programmes and everyday conversations and communities.
Hyderabad: This World Breastfeeding Week, Fernandez Hospital is telling a different kind of story. One that goes beyond the biological, beyond just mother and her baby. Through simple narratives, the hospital highlights why breastfeeding is a collective responsibility, not just for mothers.
The women-first hospital is running a week-long campaign from 1 to 7 August 2025 based on the global theme “Prioritise Breastfeeding: Creating Sustainable Support Systems”, which aims to surround every mother with a circle of care—from her doctors to her community, from her hospital room to her home.
Through a seven-day video series featuring doctors, nurses, midwives, physiotherapists, and lactation consultants, they are propagating one key message, which is supporting a mother’s first, most powerful connection with her child. A special outreach programme at the University of Hyderabad includes informative sessions on myths and facts related to breastfeeding, practical breastfeeding tips, live guidance on feeding positions, breast pumps, and milk storage, as well as an art contest for staff members, all commemorating the week.
A the University of Hyderabad
The first video features neonatologists and NICU teams working around the clock to ensure premature babies receive their mother’s milk as early as possible because research shows it’s not just nourishment, it’s medicine. The next follows obstetricians preparing women during pregnancy and labour for that critical first latch. Midwives advocate for the sacred “golden hour” after birth, a calm, uninterrupted window where breastfeeding naturally begins. At the same time, others show the important role played by lactation experts offering judgment-free guidance and physiotherapists showing mothers comfortable positions for long feeds.
“We often celebrate the mother-baby bond, but forget that sustaining it takes an entire village,” says Dr Tejo Pratap Oleti, Lead Consultant and Head, Department of Neonatology, Fernandez Hospital. “This campaign is our way of saying: You’re not alone. We see you. We stand with you. And together, we’re committed to building a system where breastfeeding isn’t just encouraged. It’s enabled.”
An Annual Breastfeeding Quiz will mark the grand conclusion of the campaign and will bring together trainees in Paediatrics, Neonatology, Practitioners, Midwives, Nutritionists, Nurses, and Lactation counsellors at Katriya Hotel, Somajiguda. It will be held from 12 pm to 5 pm.
What binds this entire week together is the belief that breastfeeding must be prioritised not only in hospital policies, but in public health programmes and everyday conversations and communities. The campaign by Fernandez Hospital is a promise to mothers that they are not alone.
