Sharjah Sharjah is set to become a baby-friendly emirate with a campaign focused on creating facilities to make life easier for mothers.
Organisers said the aim of the Sharjah Baby-Friendly Emirate campaign was to enable women to breastfeed for the longest possible time through promoting mother-friendly workplaces, public spaces and nurseries.
The SBFC was launched by the Supreme Council of Family Affairs in Sharjah in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Affairs and Ministry of Culture, Youth and Community Development early this March.
Dr Hessa Khalfan Al Gazal, director of the executive committee for SBFC told Gulf News: "The workshop was aimed at creating ambassadors of the SBFC in the different institutions so they can act as a link between us and their female colleagues and help us educate them more about breastfeeding."
The attendees were female employees from various governmental and private departments in the emirate.
Challenges
Hessa said the attendees were chosen based on recommendations by their institutions. She added that this was an introductory workshop and that other advanced and practical workshops were being planned.
The workshop, which consisted of a series of lectures, discussed the benefits of breastfeeding for the baby and the mother, the various challenges faced by breastfeeding mothers, and The International Code of Marketing of Breast milk Substitutes dictated by the International Baby Food Action Network (IBFAN).
Salma Haroon, a nurse and a breastfeeding consultant, said the code was placed to regulate the marketing of breast milk substitutes.
Aisha Abdullah, from the Ministry of Public works, said the initiative was great: "Many of us thought we knew about the correct techniques of breastfeeding, but the lectures showed us that we had some misconceptions and incorrect practices." She said that she will use the information from the workshop to educate others.
