Haryana NEWS : Under the leadership of Health and Family Welfare Minister Arti Singh Rao, the National Health Mission (NHM), Haryana, observed ‘World Breastfeeding Week’ from August 1–7 with the theme “Invest in Breastfeeding, Invest in Future”. The campaign focused on highlighting the benefits of breastfeeding and strengthening efforts to protect, promote, and support it for improving the health of both infants and mothers across the state.
Minister Arti Singh Rao said the initiative aims to ensure that every mother receives the necessary guidance and support to breastfeed for as long as she chooses. Since 2016, Haryana has been implementing the Mother Absolute Affection (MAA) programme to encourage early initiation of breastfeeding. As part of this year’s activities, training under the MAA programme was provided on July 29 to district nodal officers with experts from medical colleges. On August 5, a webinar was conducted in collaboration with PGIMER Chandigarh to train medical officers from SNCUs, CHCs, and PHCs. Special one-on-one counselling sessions were also organized at healthcare facilities such as SNCUs and postnatal wards to engage mothers and caregivers in early and exclusive breastfeeding practices.
Across the state, ASHA workers carried out 28,392 house-to-house visits to encourage early breastfeeding initiation. At 439 delivery points, dedicated nodal officers ensured immediate support and counselling for new mothers. In total, 84,599 pregnant and lactating women were counselled on early initiation and exclusive breastfeeding. Public awareness was further amplified through mass media, including print advertisements, social media campaigns, and press releases.
The minister added that the state has also set up a Comprehensive Lactation Management Unit at PGIMS Rohtak, along with five Lactation Management Units at SDH Jagadhari, and General Hospitals in Mewat, Ambala Cantt, Ambala City, and Panchkula. Owing to these sustained efforts, Haryana has surpassed its key target, achieving over 90% early initiation of breastfeeding.