Sharjah 24: The Breastfeeding Friends, one of the health-supporting associations affiliated with the Health Promotion Department of Sharjah Supreme Council for Family Affairs (SCFA), launched, on Monday, the 81st edition of the “Breastfeeding Guides” programme, a specialised training programme related to breastfeeding and infant nutrition, in Arabic and English.

The programme continues until the end of May, and includes a number of workshops held remotely to meet the required 40 hours of theory and 15 hours of practical training.

The programme aims to qualify working mothers who are interested in breastfeeding to obtain a breastfeeding counselor certificate to support mothers to assume responsibility before their families and society, and empower them in building a generation that enjoys health and wellness. 

The programme also aims to educate mothers to understand the needs of the newborn and breast milk components, advantages and importance to the child’s health. It also seeks to introduce and overcome the obstacles facing the breastfeeding mother, the many risks of formula feeding, and breastfeeding methods.

The President of the Breastfeeding Friends, Engineer Khawla Abdelaziz Al Noman, expressed the association’s pride in its members and their keenness to participate, as they are certain of the impact and valuable benefits of breastfeeding. The association is keen, through the major annual programmes, to instill this concept in all mothers and overcome the difficulties to continue breastfeeding for two full years, as mentioned in the Holy Quran. She also praised the role they will play after they graduate from the programme.

It is worth noting that the breastfeeding guides programme is presented by a group of specialised experts from medical staff working in health centres and hospitals in the UAE, in addition to a group of volunteer guides, consultants and intellectuals at the association. The programme is supervised by female employees and volunteers of the Breastfeeding Friends.