Sharjah, March 3, 2020:  The Friends of Breastfeeding Association of the Health Promotion Department at the Supreme Council for Family Affairs has launched on Monday the 14th edition of the Breastfeeding Guides Program, with the participation of 20 trainees from working mothers, housewives and women interested in breastfeeding affairs from various nationalities.

The 12-day event is provided in both Arabic and English and it aims to get the trainees acquainted with the benefits and importance of breastfeeding, understand the needs of the newborn, and highlight the components of breast milk and its advantages and importance for the health of the child.
It also seeks to identify and overcome the obstacles that may face the nursing mother the hazards of the formula milk, and breastfeeding methods.

A Healthy and Happy Society 

While welcoming the new trainees, Eng. Khawla Al Noman, Head of Breastfeeding Friends Association expressed the Association’s pride in them as new members and candidates for pioneering volunteer missions.

Al Noman highlighted the role the trainees will play after graduation, as ambassadors who will help the association achieve its goals in terms of spreading the culture of breastfeeding, offering advice and guidance to mothers and helping them to commit to breastfeeding for the benefit of their children's health and the safety of their community, pursuant to the wise visions of Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher Bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of His Highness the Ruler of Sharjah and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs in terms of enhancing Sharjah's position as a healthy and friendly city for children and adolescents, as well as achieving a healthy and happy society in the Emirate of Sharjah.

“Our Association focuses on the educational and training aspects to highlight the benefits of breastfeeding and its importance from the religious and psychological side, raise mother’s awareness about the benefits of breastfeeding, such as improving the general and psychological health of the mother, losing weight after delivery, minimizing the risk of bone weakness and cervical and breast cancer,” added Al Noman.

The breastfeeding also boosts the child's immunity and provide shim with appropriate food, especially the brain, protects them from the ear and respiratory infections, reduces allergies, and strengthens mental capacity and intelligence, as well as reduces obesity and overweight in the future.
Al Noman urged the trainees to leverage the program and to make their new experience a useful and meaningful one.

An Elite Group of Experts 

The Breastfeeding Guides Program is presented by a group of specialized experts from the medical cadres in health centers and various hospitals in the Emirate of Sharjah, in addition to volunteers and health educators from the Health Promotion Department.
While the implementation of the program is supervised by the association's employees and volunteers. The training period is featuring the distribution of gifts for the trainees, in addition to free checkups for all attendees.

Over the course of 14 years, the Breastfeeding Guides Program has managed to train more than 200 female guides. The program strives to prepare experienced female guides and introduce them to healthy and safe ways to extract and store natural milk, in addition to highlighting the Association services for its members, as well as the family, and society.

The Friends of Breastfeeding Association is a non-profit volunteer association working under the umbrella of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs since 2004.
The Association is patronized by Shaikha Jawaher bint Mohammed Al Qasimi, Wife of the Ruler of Sharjah, and Chairperson of the Supreme Council for Family Affairs