Last week, a Filipino flight attendant was hailed a hero and became a social media sensation after going beyond her call of duty in easing a passenger’s discomfort—in this case, a hungry infant. Patrisha Organo, 24, one of the cabin crew of the Philippine Airlines stepped in to help an anxious mother, who had run out of formula milk for her baby.
There was no formula milk on board and that would have meant an agonising travel for the mother and the starved infant. The airhostess, herself the mother to a nine-month-old and an advocate of breastfeeding, did the next best thing. She chose to breastfeed the baby herself, proving that the best gift a mother can give her child is breast milk.
The practice of breastfeeding is fast waning the world over, and even traditional societies are not immune to the relentless and cut-throat marketing strategies of infant food manufacturers. According to a report released by WHO and UNICEF, only four in 10 children are breast-fed within the first hour in India. Chennai-based lactation counsellor Varsha Satyan says, “Breastfeeding at the first hour is crucial. Exclusive breastfeeding up to six months is a must.”
Chennai-based nutritionist Ramya Ramachandran has been advocating breast milk for a long time now. She says that it is a myth that premature babies can’t be breast-fed until the baby has completed gestation of 34 weeks. To observe World Breastfeeding Week, she recently organised a one-of-its-kind event—the International Breastfeeding Conference that addresses the myths on breastfeeding.
Ramachandran is the founder and director of Nectar Integrated Health Services (NIHS) Pvt Ltd, a start-up which offers services/consultations related to nutrition, breastfeeding support and childbirth education. The start-up educates couple in choosing the right hospital, exercises, progression of labour and distinguishing between false and real labour, breastfeeding and newborn care.
“Anyone concerned about organic nutrition and healthy living should be passionate about breastfeeding. It is a stepping stone to a lifetime of health. Unfortunately both the general public and healthcare professionals regard breastfeeding as easily substitutable,” she laments.