KOTA KINABALU: The Ministry of Health is calling for more private hospitals to be committed in encouraging mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months after giving birth.
Health Minister Datuk Seri S Subramaniam said only nine out of 183 private hospitals in Malaysia are recognized as Baby-Friendly Hospitals, while none are in Sabah.
“The Baby-Friendly Hospital initiative is one of the ministry’s activity to support the breastfeeding practices, where hospitals are encouraged to help mothers in hospital to breastfeed their babies.
“The ministry also encourages support groups to assist young mothers who lack confidence in breastfeeding their babies. The support group consists of any individuals or the community itself who has breastfeeding experience,” he said to reporters during a press conference after launching the national-level World Breastfeeding Day 2013 at 1Borneo Ballroom, yesterday.
S Subramaniam also said the event was important to remind members of the public, especially mothers, on the importance of breastfeeding as a first step in baby care.
Earlier in his speech, S Subramaniam said reports from a nationwide survey in 2012 showed that only 30.5 per cent of mothers in Malaysia breastfed their babies exclusively for the first six months after giving birth.
“Although the number is increasing compared to only 16.2 per cent in 2010, we really need more support from everyone to ensure that we achieve global prevalent of 35 per cent.
“The private and government sectors are also encouraged to improve their facilities by giving space for mothers to breastfeed their babies or nursing, as 40 per cent of workers in Malaysia are women,” he added.
Meanwhile, State Health Exco Datuk Edward Yong Oui Fah who also attended the launching event said the state government would support the initiative to encourage more mothers to breastfeed their babies,
He said the state government would need more support in terms of infrastructure to allow more baby-friendly facilities to be built in the future.
Also present yesterday were State Health Department director Dr Christina Rundi and Family Health Development Division director To’ Puan Dr Safurah Jaafar.