Fatima AlMaslamani, Amal Alfarsi, Ebyan Garane and Aziza Mahamoud.
Patients and families visiting the Sidra Outpatient Clinic can visit an information booth till August 3, at the Obstetrics Clinic as well as join an education session about breastfeeding at the Patient Resource Center.
The education sessions will be in English and Arabic and will run for both days from 11.00am to 12.30pm. A clinical nurse, dietitian along with a team of health promoters will be on hand to help address questions and share key information related to the benefits of breastfeeding. Please note this is not a CME accredited session.
The activities will be held to coincide with the World Breastfeeding Week which starts today. As part of its patient and family centred care for patients, Sidra is also currently in the process of an international recruitment campaign to hire lactation consultants.
The hiring for these roles is based on an increasing need to support and educate expectant mothers with important information about breastfeeding and to help guide new mothers on how to properly breastfeed their child.
“Statistics released by the Ministry of Public Health and Qatar Statistics Authority in 2012 have indicated that only 29 per cent of mothers exclusively breastfed their infants for six months. We are really hoping to play an important role in encouraging mothers in Qatar to breastfeed their children. There are multiple benefits to breastfeeding for both the baby and the mother. There are also environmental benefits. We will start with the hiring of 14 lactation consultants as part of our crucial pre and post pregnancy related care that will be offered by our women’s services teams,” said Sharmane Allen, Nursing Director of Postpartum and Lactation Services, Sidra Medical and Research Centre.
The lactation consultants will be part of a wider team of healthcare professionals dedicated to ensuring that pregnant women, babies and mothers will receive a holistic approach to care – starting with prenatal consultations all the way to post-delivery counsel and guidance. Sidra will also offer ante-natal classes for mothers.
Families particularly fathers will be encouraged to join so that they too can benefit from information on how to support the mother during different phases of her pregnancy and once the baby arrives.
