“Breastfeeding is the fundamental right of all children and science has proven that breast milk is the perfect food for babies…” said Minister of Health Dr Leslie Ramsammy. According to him, it has been established that children brought up on breast milk are in fact healthier.He added that children that are breastfed are immunologically stronger and are protected against many illnesses.“Children who are breastfed do not get as many ear aches and ear infections; children that are breastfed are much more resistant to diarrhoea and they grow up to be adults with reduced risk for diabetes, hypertension,China NFL Jerseys, heart diseases and cancer.”The Minister was at the time addressing staffers of the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation who were gathered for a workshop which comes as part of the activities to mark National Breastfeeding Week.Breastfeeding week commenced Sunday and is being observed under the theme ‘Just 10 Steps: the baby friendly way.’And it is a tragedy,Cheap Jerseys, the Minister said, that more than 50 percent of babies are not getting the perfect start in life.“The things that make it possible do not cost any money. We do not have to find money to give the baby the breast, it is a free thing that God gave us, and we should use it.”Often is the case, he pointed out, that mothers neglect to breastfeed their babies because they are not aware of the benefits of breastfeeding.Additionally,Cheap Stitched Jerseys, he noted that there are the instances that health staffers themselves are ignorant of the importance of breast milk.It was for this very reason, Dr Ramsammy emphasised, that the baby-friendly hospital initiative was introduced.Guyana has three baby-friendly hospitals – West Demerara Regional, Suddie and Wismar. Local statistics indicate that Guyana has a 43 percent average of breastfed babies while the global average is just about 35 percent, the Minister revealed.“We have passed the average,Jerseys NFL Cheap, but we need not pat ourselves on the back, we need to go to almost 100 percent where only a few mothers should be given the right to waive that practice but every other mother should practice breastfeeding.”Minister Ramsammy revealed that about one-third of the deaths among children globally are from malnutrition,China NBA Jerseys, which is a major risk factor.? In some countries it has been deduced that malnutrition results from things like food security. The Minister asserted that Guyana does not have to deal food security, but rather whether persons are making use of appropriate meals that are available.“When we talk about breastfeeding as a part of our baby-friendly hospital setting,Cheap NFL Jerseys China, the mother also has to be healthy; the mothers also have to eat properly.”According to the Minister, it is expected that once hospitals attain baby-friendly status they must strive to maintain such standard in order to retain certification from the Ministry of Health. And the baby-friendly status, the Minister stressed, can only be retained if hospital staffers work on a continual basis towards a common baby-friendly goal.“You must continue to work in order to maintain it because it can be taken away from you,” he cautioned.He however lamented the fact that the vast majority of public health hospitals are not baby-friendly. Even more upsetting, he added, is that the lead hospital in the country – the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation – is not baby-friendly as yet.“It would be a shame…in 2011, in doing this workshop, we can’t start off by saying that the Georgetown Public Hospital is a baby-friendly hospital as certified by the Ministry of Health…”And though all the participants of yesterday’s workshop were not all obstetric-based, Minister Ramsammy recommended that every staff member be familiar with the baby-friendly initiative.National Breastfeeding Coordinator, Mrs Ninian Blair who also delivered remarks at the start of the workshop pronounced on the importance of adherence to the 10 steps that are required before a hospital can be declared baby-friendly.