Antigua and Barbuda, designated ‘Baby Friendly,’ marks Breast Feeding Awareness Week with research event

Antigua and Barbuda is celebrating Breast Feeding Awareness Week
and several activities have been planned to commemorate the event,
including a focus-group research exercise with new mothers.
 
Samantha Moitt, the chief nutrition officer in the Ministry of Health,
says the events commenced on Monday, September 25, with a media
campaign. Personnel were dispatched to the various radio stations
to speak on the importance of breast feeding and other related
matters.
 
On Wednesday, September 27, Moitt says, new mothers and their
babies will be taken on a trip as part of the focus-group research.
 
She says the information gathered during this outing will be used to
help officials create better public-health messages about breast
feeding.  
 
Thursday, September 28, is the annual education day for healthcare
workers, and this is being held under the theme “Beyond Baby
Friendly.”
 
At this function, Moitt says, healthcare professionals will be given
the opportunity to see a report that placed Antigua and Barbuda
among the three Caribbean countries to have been designated “Baby
Friendly.”

Meanwhile, positioning and latching is one of the topics that will be
discussed with the healthcare professionals, Moitt notes.
 
If these are not done properly from the onset (immediately after
delivery), she explains, it is going to be very hard for the mother to
breast feed for a long time.