Bihar Government promotes breast-feeding to reduce infant mortality rate
Patna:Reduce the infant mortality rate in Bihar, the State Government has started an initiative of sending greeting
cards to the families of newborns with a message stating the significance of breast-feeding for mother and child. Health Minister of Bihar Government Nand Kishor Yadav said
that the infant mortality rate would drop by 22 percent, if the mothers breastfed
their babies. “The mortality rate of the mother and the child is very high in
India . So, in order to promote breast-feeding, we can drop the infant mortality
rate by 22 percent and for this effort we have been praised by United Nations
Children's Fund (UNICEF),” Yadav said. “We want to spread the message of breast-feeding
even in the remote villages through these cards which had the name of children
written on them. Generally it is observed had we printed the brochures the parents
would have thrown them away, but the cards they will preserve and through the
card the message of breast feeding is being spread,” he added. The greeting card
advises the mothers to breastfeed their newly born babies during the first six
months. Families have appreciated the initiative saying that it was a good method
to educate them about the advantages of breast-feeding. “We are very happy on
being given this card on the baby's delivery. The message on the card informs
how to keep the baby healthy and the mothers are advised to breast feed the children
for six months,” said Rinku Devi , mother of a newborn baby. India has the highest
infant mortality rate in the world, a nationwide survey reveals. According to
a United Nations Human Development report, India has slipped from 128th to 134th
rank in 2009.
