Nutrition experts urge to continue initiatives on mother and baby-friendly hospitals, breastfeeding

CITY OF SAN FERNANDO, Pampanga, Dec. 17 (PNA) -- Nutrition experts have urged anew to continue building on the initiatives of mother and baby-friendly hospitals as well as the advocacy on breastfeeding.

In her keynote address during the recent awarding of best implementers of nutrition action plans in the province, Carleneth F. San Valentin, a program assistant on Nutrition of the World Food Program and a nutrition officer of the Nutrition Center of the Philippines, cited the vital role of government, nutrition workers and mothers in initiating breastfeeding and proper nutrition for the child.

“There is now a lower percentage of mothers who breastfeed because of their mistaken perception that they do not have adequate milk and that they have to go back to work shortly after giving birth,” a notion that Valentin noted needs to be corrected.

She also mentioned the Vita Sangkap project which has benefitted many children aged six to 18 months in many towns of the province.

Implemented by the World Food Program (WFP) and the Helen Keller Foundation, it involves the mixing into the daily meals of children a packet containing 15 vitamins and minerals to aid in their development.

“Vita Sangkap is WFP’s response to help children 0-24 months old right after typhoons Ondoy and Peping devastated countless families in Metro Manila and Luzon,” Valentin said.

Through Vita Sangkap’s expanded implementation in other towns, she said the WFP hopes to see a healthier generation of children in the future.

Valentin also emphasized the five key messages on nutrition which she described as “good reminders to mothers”.

These messages are: the first 1000 days of a child or from the womb to two years, are the most crucial and a window of opportunity for him to grow optimally; breastfeeding should start within an hour after childbirth; breastfeeding should be done by a mother up to the sixth month of the child; appropriate complementary feeding should start at six months; complementary feeding should be timely, adequate, safe and appropriate.