Minister Seethakka Calls For Statewide Awareness During World Breastfeeding Week
Minister Seethakka suggested that World Breastfeeding Week should be observed not merely as official programs but as a movement to raise awareness among the people.
Hyderabad: On the occasion of World Breastfeeding Week (August 1–7), Minister for Women and Child Welfare Dr. Danasari Anasuya Seethakka directed officials to conduct extensive awareness programs across the state to convey the importance of breastfeeding to every mother and every family.
The minister stated that mother's milk is the first right of every child and the complete nourishment provided by nature. She explained that colostrum, which comes immediately after birth, acts as the newborn's first immunity booster. By initiating breastfeeding within the first hour of birth for every child, providing exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, and continuing breastfeeding alongside age-appropriate complementary foods up to two years, a strong foundation is laid for the healthy growth of children, she said.
Minister Seethakka suggested that World Breastfeeding Week should be observed not merely as official programs but as a movement to raise awareness among the people. She directed that awareness meetings, door-to-door visits, and community programs be held in all Anganwadi centers, villages, and wards across the state to extensively promote breastfeeding.
Anganwadi teachers, helpers, supervisors, Women and Child Welfare Department officials, ASHA workers, and medical and health department staff should coordinate to visit government and private hospitals and provide special counseling to pregnant women, newborns, mothers of infants under six months, and mothers of children under two years, the minister advised.
She urged them to dispel myths about breastfeeding and provide scientific awareness, while also involving family members as partners in these programs. The minister directed that coordination with hospital staff should ensure that every newborn receives mother's milk within the first hour of birth in every maternity hospital. She expressed hope that the Anganwadi system would play a key role in promoting breastfeeding and that every Anganwadi center would stand as a guiding hub for mother and child health. Building a malnutrition-free Telangana is the government's goal, and mother's milk serves as a strong foundation for every child to lead a healthy life, she added.
Minister Seethakka called upon public representatives, doctors, women's organizations, Anganwadi staff, voluntary organizations, and every family to be partners in making World Breastfeeding Week a success. She appealed to society at large to step forward with responsibility so that every mother can provide her child with mother's milk.
