A multi-disciplinary seminar on Breastfeeding was conducted both online and offline mode by Global Centre for Public Health Care and Management, GFSRD in collaboration with Parul University, Gujarat, India, Institute of Human Sciences for Holistic Health, Karnataka, India and Momexpert, Maharastra, India on August 19, 2023. It had attendees from India as well as abroad.
The seminar was coordinated by GCPHCM Hony. head Dr. Amrita Sarkar who is working as Associate Professor, Dept. of Community Medicine and MEU member faculty in TRIHMS, Arunachal Pradesh. She has more than a decade of experience in medicine and is an ardent public health specialist and researcher with more than 40 scientific articles in indexed journals. The event was moderated by Dr Prashant Davewho is currently working as an Assistant Medical Superintendent & associate professor – Department of PSM at Parul Institute of Medical Science and Research, Vadodara, Gujarat.
He has decade-plus years of experience in the field of hospital and healthcare systems management. He is an occupational health and public health specialist mainly interested in capacity building and health tech innovations through multidisciplinary collaboration.
Dr. Jayanta Choudhury who is the founder secretary of GFSRD and a man bestowed with many awards and achievements in the field of rural development delivered the welcome speech.
The first speaker of the event was Dr. M. Sowmya, a medical physiologist and a lactational professional from Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu spoke on the physiology of lactation, the reflexes and hormones leading to lactation, and also on breastmilk composition. She spoke about how nutritive, fulfilling, and sufficient mother’s milk was for the growth, development, and immunity of the baby.
Her session made a way for the upcoming sessions. This was followed by a session by Dr. Amrita Sarkar and Archana Reddy on “Art and Science of Lactation” named after the book “Breastfeeding: the Art and Science of Lactation” where the speakers are editor and author respectively.
Reddy is an International Board-certified lactation consultant (IBCLC), specializing in supporting breastfeeding and maternal-infant care. In her presentation, she delved into the intricate balance between biological processes and the emotional connection between mothers and infants.
She explored different positions of breastfeeding which will make both mother and baby comfortable and when which is preferable. However, she added that positions depend on the comfort of the mother and baby dead. Dr. Sarkar spoke about how breastfeeding is often referred to as both an art and a science due to the combination of physiological processes, emotional connections, and practical skills that are involved.
In essence, the science of breastfeeding involves the biological aspects of milk production, nutritional content, and health benefits. The art of breastfeeding encompasses the emotional connection, nurturing, and intuitive aspects that go beyond the physical act of feeding.
The combination of these elements makes breastfeeding a uniquely complex and beautiful experience that varies from person to person. She also spoke about the most important part in establishing effective breastfeeding which is the latch or attachment of baby’s mouth to the breast.
She explained that the lips of the baby should be everted, the baby’s mouth should cover most of the areola, the chin should be touching the breast, cheeks should be rounded while feeding, short pauses from being tired of suckling and visible swallowing and gulping sounds must be heard. The baby’s entire body should be turned towards the mother and in a straight line.
Dr Uma Siddharth Nayak, an experienced paediatrician, currently working as a Professor and Head, of the Department of Pediatrics, Parul Institute of Medical Sciences and research (PIMSR), Gujarat, India. She focused on her passion to start the 2nd in Gujarat and Vadodara’s first human bank installation journey at Parul Sevashram Hospital.
She spoke on the rationale, need, and importance of human milk banks, the challenges faced during that journey, satisfying outcomes, and the way forward in this journey. Dr. Sneha Madasu, Pediatrician, and lactational consultant from Niloufer Hospital in Telangana explained the 10 essential steps for successful breastfeeding. This was followed by a session by a former chartered accountant and founder of Momexpert, a startup.
She emphasized finding or forming a village to raise a child, and how important it is for new mothers to have a community to support them on their breastfeeding journey. She shared various research findings and real-life examples from WhatsApp communities to drive home this point. She hoped that the next generation of healthcare professionals would recognise this crucial aspect and take steps to provide the necessary support or direct mothers to expert-backed communities for the support they need.
Dhanalaxmi Rangaswamy, a Lactational Professional and counsellor, founder, Svastha Centre for Counselling and Training, Chennai ended the webinar with her session on the Psychosocial impact on breastfeeding mothers wherein she also shared cases she has dealt with.