Famous Montenegrin singer visits baby-friendly maternity ward in Bar
BAR, MONTENEGRO - September 8, 2009 – Andrijana Bozovic, famous Montenegrin singer, joined the campaign “The Early Years-An Opporutunity of a Lifetime” by visiting a baby friendly maternity ward in Bar together with representatives of UNICEF and the Ministry of Health on Tuesday morning, September 8, 2009. “Breastfeeding is the best possible way to feed a baby and it is the best choice also because of the relatioship that mother establishes with the baby. I breastfed my son for a year and we had a very special relationship during these 12 months. I will never forget these moments, his look while I was breatsfeeding and cuddling him…” said Andrijana Bozovic on this occasion. Promotion of breastfeeding is one of the three topics of the 3 month awareness raising campaign that UNICEF and the Ministry of Health started during the World Breastfeeding Week. The campaign is based on the key findings of a June 2009 UNICEF survey on attitudes and practices of Montenegro’s parents of children up to 6 years old. It showed that 85% of parents do not know or don’t agree that that breast milk meets all the needs of an infant for nutrients. “We have a very clear message, and that is: in the first 6 months of life, breastmilk provides a complete form of nutrition, everything that a baby needs. Breastmilk provides a unique combination of nutrients and antibodies. It cannot be artificially replicated. So, we appeal to all mothers of infants and all future mothers to breastfeed their babies and give them the best possible start in life” said Noala Skinner, UNICEF Representative on this occasion.
UNICEF and WHO recommend that mothers start breastfeeding within the first hour after birth and that they exclusively breastfeed their babies during the first 6 months. WHO and UNICEF globally launched the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative in 1992, to strengthen maternity ward practices to support breastfeeding. “Our maternity ward was one of the first in Montenegro to become “baby friendly” in 1996 and we are really thankful to UNICEF for supporting us to implement this programme. As a result of the successful implementation of this programme for 14 years now, 95% of women leave our hospital as breastfeeding mothers.” said Dr Vesna Djukvucic, Director of the maternity ward in Bar. In Montenegro, the Baby-friendly Hospital Initiative began in 2000 as a joint project of the Ministry of Health and UNICEF. As a result, 7 out of 11 maternity hospitals in Montenegro became Baby-Friendly. “The Ministry of Health will support the remaining 4 maternity wards to become baby friendly in the future” said OIC Deputy Minister of Health Ruzica Milovic while visiting the baby friendly hospital in Bar. Mothers need support from family as well, as UNICEF Representative Noala Skinner pointed out. UNICEF’s June 2009 survey revealed that 37% of breastfeeding mothers have no one helping them with nutrition and breastfeeding, cleaning and bathing the child, while 59% of fathers do not know how their child is fed. "Breastfeeding is not simply about mother and baby. Support from health workers, family members, friends who have breastfed and even the community is crucial” said Ms. Skinner. “A father has a particularly important role to play. He can support in so many ways, with even small gestures such as making a warm drink or preparing a glass of water for the mother while she breastfeeds the child, changing the baby’s nappy before and after the feed, and bathing his baby. Fathers can and should also have skin to skin time with their babies." said UNICEF Representative Noala Skinner. Promotion of the role of fathers and promotion of alternatives to physical punishment are the other two topics of the awareness raising campaign “The Early Years – An Opportunity of a Lifetime” that will end on October 31.
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