LAHORE: There is no food and tonic better than mother’s milk for newborns’ health and physical development.
Postgraduate Medical Institute Principal Professor Dr Al-Fareed Zafar said this while addressing the participants of a seminar on Pneumonia diseases at Lahore General Hospital (LGH) here on Sunday.
He said that mothers should breastfeed their infants for at least six months to develop immunity, and they can protect against seasonal influences, pneumonia, respiratory disease, flu and chest infection. Medical experts said that according to the WHO, every year, 26 lac children in the world lose their lives due to pneumonia.
He said that pneumonia is a disease of the lungs and respiratory system that affects the lungs; the patient feels difficulty breathing, high fever, chest infection, vomiting and drowsiness. Congestion and tremors are also among the symptoms of pneumonia, he added. He said that Pneumonia could occur at any age, but physically weak people and children should take special precautions in the winter season to protect them from this disease.
The principal PGMI said that the government had also included the pneumonia vaccine in the immunization course for newborns in the EPI program, so parents should complete immunization courses to protect their newborns at any cost. It must be done so that the children can be protected from infectious diseases like pneumonia by strengthening their immune systems.
He added that, especially in the winter season, the healthcare of newborn children is the 100% responsibility of parents. They should ensure to follow precautionary measures because these innocent children cannot even change their sides in the bed on their own. He said that the parents must take complete care of them as their slight negligence and failure to complete the immunizations vaccine could cause the infants to suffer from many diseases, including life-threatening pneumonia.
Prof Faheem Afzal and Prof Muhammad Shahid said that most children were deprived of other basic necessities in Pakistan due to a lack of awareness about diseases, economic conditions and other reasons. He said that several children were deprived of basic needs, including healthy diets, during the winter season due to lack of resources, and such children get colds and flu easily, which turn into pneumonia every year and due to which thousands of children do not reach the age of one year, and they die due to pneumonia. He appealed to the mothers to keep their children breastfeeding and not forget to get timely vaccinations and protect them from dust and smoke.
Dr Aftab Anwar, Dr Abdul Aziz and Dr Muhammad Maqsood said that parents must pay special attention to the health of children, especially in winter, and according to their means, provide better food, warm drinks and warm clothes for children so that they can be able to withstand cold air and cold weather. APP
