The Ministry of Public Health (MoPH) is running an introductory campaign for the Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative, from January 29 until Thursday, at Sidra Medicine.
The campaign aims to raise awareness on the importance of breastfeeding, enable mothers and pregnant women to identify the best habits they can adopt to ensure appropriate nutrition for them and their children, and showcase global recommendations, the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding up to six months, as well as introduce healthy complementary foods while continuing breastfeeding until the age of two years.
The campaign also introduces the importance of skin-to-skin contact between mother and child from the first moment after birth to strengthen their bond.
In the run-up to the campaign, the MoPH held a five-day workshop from January 22 to 26 in collaboration with Sidra Medicine in order to train breastfeeding counsellors.
The breastfeeding counsellors' training workshop is an accredited workshop launched by World Health Organisation (WHO) and Unicef to support, promote and protect breastfeeding by training healthcare providers to provide breastfeeding advice and support to mothers. The workshop is designed to equip health workers with the skills to optimally support mothers and their babies in breastfeeding.
The workshop is part of the implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative launched by WHO and Unicef in 1991 with the aim of protecting and promoting the health of pregnant women, new mothers and their babies.
This initiative was implemented by the Ministry of Public Health in 2016 and is part of the objectives of the National Action Plan for Nutrition and Physical Activity and in line with Qatar National Vision 2030.
The breastfeeding counsellors' training workshop follows the training of trainers’ course for breastfeeding counsellors organised by the MoPH in 2019 in co-operation with WHO.
The workshop aimed to introduce and explain the recommendations for breastfeeding at health facilities, provide evidence-based recommendations on breastfeeding, understand the importance of communication skills and breastfeeding counseling to improve breastfeeding practices, health and nutrition for mothers and their children. Additionally, the workshop discussed the 10 steps to successful breastfeeding and its application, the role of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes in protecting breastfeeding, and the practical application of acquired skills and evaluation of trainers.