Cable & Wireless supports breastfeeding |18 August 2017
In a bid to help the Ministry of Health promote breastfeeding and the positive health factors associated with it Cable & Wireless Seychelles (CWS) has made several donations to the Health Care Agency (HCA).
The donations include two Medela branded hospital-grade breast pumps, five breastfeeding pillows, a free 24-hour breastfeeding helpline and various banners, posters and leaflets aimed at informing mothers on breastfeeding.
The director of human resources and administration at CWS, Thomas Dauban, officially handed over these equipment to the chief executive of the HCA, Dr Danny Louange, in a ceremony held on Wednesday outside of the Maternity Ward at the Seychelles Hospital.
The head of the maternity unit, Gillian Mein, staff from the Ministry of Health as well as personnel from CWS were present to witness the handover.
“Although this donation may seem simple, it is actually a milestone in our promotion of breastfeeding in Seychelles. The breastfeeding helpline provided by CWS in particular is the first ever established and is a very important step in the promotion of breastfeeding,” Dr Louange said, adding it is hoped that the donation will help encourage mothers to breastfeed their infants up to the recommended six months.
On his part Mr Dauban stated that CWS will always be ready to support the health of Seychellois and will continue to answer the calls for sponsorship from the Ministry of Health wherever possible.
According to the nutritionist at the HCA, Stephanie Desnousse, it was the agency that approached CWS for the sponsorship of a breastfeeding helpline.
“We felt that most mothers once they leave the maternity ward don’t know who to call or get in contact with if they need help with regard to breastfeeding. And it is not just limited to breastfeeding, if they have any other questions relating to pregnancy or child health they can call,” Ms Desnousse said.
In addition to the helpline CWS also decided to help the maternity ward by providing two breast pumps and breastfeeding pillows, which will go a long way in helping new mothers learn how to pump and store their breast milk as well as how to correctly position their babies during breastfeeding.
Ms Desnousse further added that the donation is one of the activities for the breastfeeding week this year which was celebrated from August 1-7 under the theme ‘Sustaining Breastfeeding Together’.
She said that the donations will furthermore help the Seychelles Hospital when it goes under re-evaluation next year by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) to maintain its baby-friendly accreditation gained in April 2015.
The baby-friendly initiative is a combined effort by WHO and Unicef to ensure all maternities become centres of breastfeeding support.
In fact under their terms a maternity facility is considered baby-friendly when it does not accept free or low-cost breast milk substitutes, feeding bottles or teats and has implemented 10 specific steps such as helping mothers initiate breastfeeding within one-half hour of birth.
Expectant mothers, parents and anyone concerned with breastfeeding should not hesitate to contact the helpline on 4324132 to receive expert advice. There are no charges for calls to the helpline and is available at any time.