A proposal has made to establish a ‘Day Care Centre’ in Parliament to look after the infants and children of female Members of Parliament, MP Dr. Thusitha Wijemanna said.
Addressing a workshop at the Government Information Department Auditorium yesterday on the theme of ‘Breastfeeding and the working mother - A multi sectoral approach’, she said that laws should be introduced to grant ‘Paternity Leave’ for fathers, similar to that of other countries.
“In the past, the family members were there to support the new mother, but today, only the husband is there to support the mother and infant,” Dr.Wijemanna said.
MP. Dr.Sudarshini Fernandopulle said that employers and society try to portray that the 84 working days maternity leave granted for mothers as something negative.
“But, this is an investment for the entire country. Today, Non Communicable Diseases (NCDs) are rapidly increasing in Sri Lanka. Breastfeeding prevents the possibility of developing NCDs when children become adults.If the infant passes urine six times per 24 hours, the mother had breastfed the infant adequately. The first 1,000 days of the baby’s life can be treated as the golden 1,000 days of any human being’s life,” Dr.Fernandopulle added.
Consultants stressed the importance of continuously breastfeeding infants for the first six months and continuing to do so along with complementary feeding. After introducing food, breastfeeding should be considered as a complementary food. Breastfeeding increases the IQ by 7 to 10 points. Breastfed babies have an IQ of 8.5 percent. Breast milk is something natural and changes instantly according the infant’s requirement various environmental conditions.
“Infant’s milk powder (formula) is something artificial without the ability to change. They increase the possibility of developing various diseases and negative health conditions in infants and children especially when they become adults, Consultants added.
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