Healthy Infant Feeding Education Integrated in Traditional Indian Practices

In the Indian culture, there is a celebratory tradition called Anna-Prashan (food feeding or initiating of food other than milk), which marks the first time that an infant eats cereal/semi-solid food. On Tuesday July 17, 2012, mothers and their six month old infants from the Basti (slum) New Jagdish Nagar gathered together to part take in this rite of passage. For families living in slum neighborhoods under poor conditions, there is very little education or awareness about the importance of nutrition and supplementary feeding after six months of age. This community event serves as an example of how education and tradition can come together to motivate appropriate nutrition behaviours. Sampoorn Mahila Samiti, is a networked federation of 16 groups formally linked with 28 other groups newer groups that are less formally linked. Sampoorn, with guidance and support from Urban Health Resource Center (UHRC) and in close partnership with basti-level women’s groups, organize such “Annaprashan” events periodically in different clusters of Baanganga area in order to utilise this traditional ceremony into an educational and behavior promotion event for the young children of that cluster of bastis.

                                              

The topics discussed during the event is focused on weaning practices and how to properly feed their children, what kinds of foods are vital when weaning, hygiene, sanitation, proper hand washing, and general suggestions for maternal health. 

With their children at hand, mothers were seated in a circle with a bowl of kheer (boiled rice, milk & sugar) in the center ready to feed their children solid food for the first time. Before the children started eating their delicious kheer, Shabnam Verma a UHRC staff member, discussed the importance of proper nutrition practices that were imperative for these mothers to take into consideration. She was actively engaging with these mothers by showing them pictures, asking questions, and making sure they were included in the dialogue.  All of the mothers were sitting eagerly to learn the proper ways to take care of their children. This sparked interest in the eyes of these women because it brought clarity to their traditional somewhat unclear ideas about infant feeding.

  

Similarly, this initiative has the capacity to help many women in need that are not able to obtain the proper knowledge otherwise. In particular, there was one mother who was able to gain information to potentially save her child’s life. She was new immigrant to the Basti New Jagdish Nagar and was unfamiliar with what was going on. Her one year old child was severely malnourished and was in dire need of care.  With great concern and care, all of the other mothers turned to her and gave her advice on how to help bring her child back to normalcy. The gathered women and UHRC staff members spoke to her about the proper infant feeding practices as well as providing her with helpful information for her child’s immunizations. She didn’t have the necessary information to keep her child in a healthy state and this event helped create an internal awareness for herself as well as for her infant. One of the mothers offered to help her by making frequent visits and UHRC has made sure to have an eye out for her.  She was open to learn about her child’s condition and with the new learned information and guidance she will now be able to help her child.

This cultural event was a successful combination of traditional forethought and educational guidance. The messages given to these women reinforce healthy behaviors, in turn, leading to better health outcomes for mothers and their children. These children were not only given real food for the first time, but they were given the knowledge that will support a lifetime of healthy upbringing. 

Namaste from India,

Farah 

Me in pink playing with a very cute Indian baby!

Live Life Holisticly....

This article is very interesting, and I think you will enjoy it too!

Maybe we should all think a little more about what we do everyday, and why....
just a thought.

Holistic Medicine: Ayurveda

on June 4, 2010

Ayurveda is the oldest and most holistic medicine in the world. Its teachings and practices were documented over 5,000 years ago in India, despite having a history that spans longer than what was documented.

Ayurveda has been referred to a holistic medicine that deals with both body and the spirit. In fact, ayurveda is more like a lifestyle and covers all aspects of health including nutrition and amazingly, surgery.

The main aim of Ayurveda is prevention. Ancient text tells us that humans should be able to live to be about 100 years old and that one can live to a ripe old age in good health, both physically and mentally. Ayurveda does not accept that getting old equals a failing health and a poor quality of life. Although these texts have been written several thousand years ago, Ayurvedic principles remain very much applicable even in today’s environment. It is possible for anyone to introduce Ayurvedic principles into their life. There are plenty of benefits that can be derived from doing so.

Ayurvedic practitioners will often strive to find health issues which may just be in their early stages and try to deal with them before they get more serious. In all, Ayurveda seeks to take a preventative stance when it comes to diseases, both physical and mental.
Because the the philosophy behind Ayurveda holistic medicine can be quite complex, it can take practitioners several years to understand and master this form of holistic healing.

However, I will attempt to give a brief explanation here on basic Ayurvedic principles, as provided by a practitioner friend of mind.

Through the years, Ayurvedic healing came up with three classifications or “doshas” which are said to govern all bodily processes. The 3 main doshas are Vata (air), Pitta (fire), and Kapha (water). A person’s constitution type is dependent on whichever dosha that appears to be dominant. Each constitution type has particular strengths and susceptibilities.
Pita (fire) determines how you digest food, your metabolization of sensory perceptions and your emotions. Too much Pitta can lead to anger, criticism, acidity, ulcers, rashes and thinning hair. On the other hand, too much vata leads to worries, insomnia and constipation. Vata controls blood flow, waste elimination and your breathing. Someone with too much Kapha gains weight easily. Too much Kapah also leads to lethargy, congestion and allergies.

For an ayurvedic diagnosis, therefore, patients are classified by their body types which are determined by the proportions of the three doshas. When the doshas are not in balance, illness and disease results. Ayurvedic treatments are aimed at restoring harmony or balance to the mind-body system.

In Ayurveda, natural remedies are often used as treatments. For instance, herbal preparations may be prescribed. Often, an Ayurvedic doctor will advise a diet change as well. There is also a great focus on stress relaxation and Ayurveda can involve some deep relaxing massage techniques.

Today, there is rising interest in the area of Ayurveda holistic medicine by the western world. For instance, the neem plant which has been used for ayurvedic medicine for so many thousands of years, have been encapsulated after research and testing. Neem plant extracts are used for eczema, liver cleansing and other skin disease problems.

The rising interest by western doctors can only mean good news for us all. With more widespread awareness of ayurvedic herbs, people seeking treatment will find out that there are plenty of alternatives to conventional medicine. More choices and more analysis and information are privy to making informed health decisions for you and your family.

Source: http://www.holisticthoughts.com/uncategorized/holistic-medicine-ayurveda/