In New Indian Express on Cloth pads 2019

In kungumam an article about Dr Jayashree

https://www.newstodaynet.com/chennai/breast-feeding-club-opened-at-mehtas-hospitals-116130.html

http://chennaiyil.com/mehtas-hospitals-breast-feeding-mothers-support-club/

KUNGUMAM THOZHI MAGAZINE JULY 2017

DINAMALAR , PENGAL MALAR MAY 2017

 Mothers Day 2017 & Bloom Birthing Centre 1st Anniversary

New Childbirth Techniques help make Informed Choices in DT Next

New Childbirth Techniques help make Informed Choices in DT Next

Mar 24 2016 : The Times of India (Chennai)

MOTHER’S DAY CELEBRATION 2015 IN FORTIS MALAR HOSPITAL WITH LAUNCH OF POST NATAL FITNESS AND MOTHERS CLUB

ANDHRA JYOTHI 2015

Dhakshin Bharat 2015

TIMES OF INDIA 2015

NEWS TODAY 2015

NEW INDIAN EXPRESS 2015

TRINITY MIRROR 2015

PRE LAUNCH OF BLOOM BIRTHING CENTRE,NATURAL BIRTH BOUTIQUE

Velachery Times 2015

 THE HINDU

CHENNAI, August 20, 2014

Updated: August 20, 2014 01:21 IST

More mothers in city seek help with breastfeeding

 ‘A lot of working women have only three months’ maternity leave, and some wean the baby too soon. Others need help managing work and breastfeeding’

World Breastfeeding Week, celebrated every year between August 1 and 7, promotes breastfeeding and creates awareness of its numerous benefits.

But what happens when a new mother is unable to breastfeed or finds it very difficult?

That’s where lactation consultants step in. A profession that is growing in the city, these consultants are trained to teach mothers how to feed their babies and help with the many problems that can crop up while breastfeeding.

“In several other countries, breastfeeding is a choice. In the Indian set-up, it is a social responsibility. And while breastfeeding is best for the baby and must be promoted, mothers here are under a lot of pressure to feed. When they find it problematic, they are pressured to immediately switch to formula,” said S. Subramanian, neonatologist and one of the founders of the Mothers’ and Infants’ Lactation/Breastfeeding Care Centre in Mylapore, which sees around three mothers a day.

A lactation consultant can help to find out what the problem is and guide and counsel the mother and the family to breastfeed or give them options other than formula, said Dr. Subramanian.

For new mothers, the problems can range from initiation and under-secretion to issues with the babies latching.

“Of every five women who have delivered a baby, four generally have a problem,” said Jayashree Jayakrishnan, a city-based lactation consultant, who sees around five mothers every day.

R. Ramalakshmi, for instance, initially had a problem feeding her daughter, Raksha. “Her mouth was too small and it was very painful for me. After a few tries, I started her on formula,” she said.

A consultant at the hospital then trained her on positioning the baby correctly, and after some guidance, she was able to feed her baby.

Working women too, have issues. “Many have only three months’ maternity leave, and some wean the baby too soon. Others need help managing work and breastfeeding. New mothers, especially those living independently, need guidance,” said C.C. Sowmya, Bangalore-based paediatrician and lactation consultant.

Consultancy, however, does not lead to 100 per cent results, said Dr. Subramanian. “It is essential to get started soon after birth at the hospital. Once the baby is started on formula, going back to breastfeeding becomes difficult. Hospitals and nursing homes should have consultants on hand,” he said.

While more women are seeking help — through their doctors, extended family or after searching online — experts say there are too few consultants to meet the demand.

“The Breastfeeding Promotion Network of India has started courses for infant-feeding specialists, but a lot of practical experience is needed,” said Dr. Jayakrishnan.

Also, the certification course from International Board of Lactation Consultant Examiners is expensive, said Dr. Subramanian. “It would be great if a university here could start a course, based on our set-up” he said.

NEWSTODAY 2014

THE HINDU,TAMIL,2014

DHINAMANI 2014

THE NEW INDIAN EXPRESS 2014

INDIA TODAY

DOCTOR VIKATAN 2012

THE HINDU 2011

Published: The Hindu Newspaper,August 2, 2011 08:29 IST

Programmes to spread awareness of breastfeeding

Special Correspondent

Hospitals in the city on Monday launched the weeklong World Breastfeeding Week celebrations with awareness programmes and events for mothers, doctors and paramedical staff.

The theme for this year is ‘Talk to me! Breastfeeding a 3D experience’.

The Institute of Child Health, Egmore, launched the weeklong celebrations with an oration on the theme. The institute has roped in schools and women’s colleges in the city to conduct awareness programmes. Separate workshops for undergraduate and postgraduate medical students, nurses, paramedics and ICDS workers will be held.

Nutrition Department in-charge D. Gunasingh said though government hospitals exhort all women during childbirth to take up exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, only about 30 in every 100 new mothers do so. “If 90 per cent of the mothers did so, nearly 13 per cent of under-five mortality rate can be reduced. Another 10 per cent of children can be saved by appropriate complementary feeding,” he said. Breastfeeding also reduces maternal mortality rate, he added.

The Mother and Infant Lactation Centre at St. Isabel Hospital will be conducting a series of programmes in several private hospitals. There will be a doctor-parent interaction on Wednesday as support of other family members is important, according to neonatologist S. Giridhar, attached to Neolife Children’s Hospital. The events will conclude on Saturday with an advanced workshop for doctors that would be addressed by an obstetrician, a paediatrician and a counsellor. Doctors advise exclusive breastfeeding for six months and including complementary feed after that. They advise mothers to continue for two years..

Article in The Hindu Newspaper July 29,2011

Colostrum is a great immunity booster

Reporter: Ramya Kannan

Blame the changing social scenario and lifestyle changes if you will: increasing nuclear families, lack of familiar support: but at the end of the day, it is still the mother’s task to nurse her baby and feed the baby breast milk exclusively for six months.

World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1 to 7 in more than 120 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old, and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond. “The problem is that the promotion of breastfeeding is more complex than it may seem on the surface,” says Jayashree Jayakrishnan, lactation consultant. There is no doubt about the superiority of human milk over substitutes in scientific and medical communities, but when it comes to implementation, it becomes difficult to explain why parents choose artificial milk products over mother’s milk.

“The mechanical hum drum of life has somehow put women out of touch with the traditional breastfeeding patterns. It was a sort of back-to-the-roots movement when we started Mothers Infant Lactation Centre (MILC) in Chennai,” explains one of its founders, S.Subramanian, consultant paediatrician, St. Isabel’s Hospital.

MILC was co founded by Meenakshi Subramaniam and Padmini Balagopal in May 2009 with the express purpose of creating awareness about breastfeeding and helping mothers breastfeed in comfort. A series of events are to be conducted for breastfeeding week by MILC, details are at www.happymom.in

“Breastfeeding is a physiologic continuation of normal reproductive cycle, and babies are born knowing instinctively how to suckle,” Dr. Subramanian says. Except in instances where the mother or child has medical problems which does not permit the child to suckle from the mother’s breast, it is advisable to start breast feeding within an hour of birth.

“Even in these cases, we express the mother’s milk and later feed it to the baby. The colostrum (first milk) is a great immunity booster,” he adds. “We ask mothers if feeding is painless. If there is any pain, we know they are not doing it right. Also, pain or stress will interrupt smooth flow of the milk and the baby will not be well-fed,” Dr. Jayashree explains. Often, the mother suffers from a lot of guilt, self-imposed and hinted at by members of the family, if she is unable to feed her child well. “They get depressed, stressed, and wonder how they are unable to execute even this simple task. This further impedes feeding,” she adds. Raji’s (25) baby boy fed beautifully two days after birth, but subsequently, he had to be incubated, and forgot to suckle.

“I was in pain, he was not feeding, and yet I was determined to feed him only breast milk. There was something I was not doing right, and it bothered me so much, I could not sleep.” It was only after a consultation with Dr. Jayashree that Raji managed to sleep, after nearly 25 days of worry. “What we need to realise is that even if the mother has been trained pre and post nataly about breast feeding techniques, a number of things can go wrong. Instead of giving up then, or feeding the child formula foods, and water, it is best to see a doctor who can help the mother feed effortlessly,” Dr. Subramanian says.

NEWS YEAR 2010

THE HINDU 2010

Article in The Hindu Newspaper,July 29 , 2010

For better child health

World Breastfeeding Week programmes from August 1 to 7

Mothers Infant Lactation Centre (MILC) organises World Breastfeeding Week celebrations from August 1 to 7 to drive home the importance of breastfeeding.

More than 120 countries celebrate the first week of August thus to help improve the health of babies across the world.

The WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding until a baby is six months old, and continued breastfeeding with the addition of nutritious complementary foods for up to two years or beyond.

To commemorate this week, events have been organised across Chennai.

On August 1, there will be a training on implementing breastfeeding skills at St. Isabel Hospital; and on August 2, at the Government Institute Of Child Health, Egmore, there will be a programme on ‘Ten Steps for Successful Breastfeeding’.

On August 3, at the Kanchi Kamakoti Child Trust Hospital, there will be a public forum on breastfeeding.

On August 4, at the KM Speciality Hospital, KK Nagar, the topic discussed will be ‘Preparing antenatal mothers about the benefit and management of breastfeeding’.

On August 5, At Roots to Wings, Annanagar, the issue, ‘Ways to maintain lactation and breastfeed for working women’ will be discussed, as will the development rate of breastfed and bottle-fed babies.

On August 6 at GG Hospital, the topic discussed will be ‘Ways to maintain breastfeed and lactation even if mothers are separated from infants’. On the concluding day, August 7, at Vanilla Childrens Place, the topic will be ‘Encourage breastfeed on demand’, and the need to avoid artificial teethers and pacifiers for infants.

To take part in the sessions, call 94444-32677 or visit www.happymom.in