WITH the launch of the 10th One Asia Breastfeeding Partners Forum by Her Royal Highness Princess Hajah Masna yesterday, an exhibition was held with the aim of providing knowledge to the public based on the theme of ‘Complementary Feeding for Infants and Young Children: Give Mom Access to Appropriate Food, No Child will go Hungry’.

The exhibition highlights the developments in breastfeeding prior to 1980 until the present day and is being presented in the form of a “journey line” that has been divided into three phases.

Phase one (before 1980) showcases that newborn babies in the old General Hospital in Sumbiling Lama were nursed in a unit for both normal and caesarean deliveries. It also shows that from the mid 1980s onwards the Ministry of Health encouraged all pregnant women to give birth in hospitals to reduce complications such as postpartum bleeding and birth asphyxia.

In the second phase, which showcases the beginning of baby-friendly hospital initiatives (1990 onwards), the focus is on breastfeeding for infants born in 1990, which was published in the Breastfeeding Seminar Guideline Booklet, as well as information on the advances of breastfeeding in Brunei Darussalam.

Phase three covers the implementation of baby-friendly hospital initiatives from the year 2000 onwards, in which several breastfeeding video clips were produced and aired on national television to promote the activity among mothers. Also included is information on the National Breastfeeding Policy that was officially adopted by the Ministry of Health and the Raja Isteri Pengiran Anak Saleha Hospital in 2001.

In addition, there is also an exhibition on the antenatal clinic, labour room, home nursing, child health clinic, oral health care, Technical Working Group, Women Institute of Brunei Darussalam, a kitchen demonstration and the presentation of international posters.

The exhibition is open to the public from 8.30am to 12pm and 1.30pm to 5pm on Monday to Thursday and Saturday; from 9am to 11.30am and 2.30pm to 5pm on Friday and from 9am to 5pm on Sunday. - Borneo Bulletin (28 October 2014)