“I want to breastfeed, but I am having difficulty breastfeeding,” says a frustrated new mother.

How do you empower women to commit to breastfeeding? Mother’s milk contains all the nutrients that a baby needs in the first six months of life, is easily digested and contributes to a healthy immune system. Yet, across the world three in five babies are not breastfed in the first hour of life, a practice that can significantly reduce infant mortality, according to the latest figures from WHO and UNICEF.

In Pakistan, the situation is even more alarming. A recent report suggests that only one in five​ children is breastfed within the first hour and just 48% of babies are breastfed for six months.

While breastfeeding comes easy to a few mothers, there are many others who need constant help and support. Women’s confidence in their ability to breastfeed is affected by concerns such as whether they can sufficiently nourish and satisfy their babies and whether they are able to cope with the discomfort or inconvenience.

Enter healthcare providers in breast feeding: Zohra Kurji, an assistant professor at the Aga Khan University’s School of Nursing and Midwifery, one of the very few International Board Certified Lactation ​​consultants* in Pakistan, has now become the first nurse in the country to independently run a consulting clinic for lactating mothers at the University Hospital. 

“Seeing your newborn take their first feed is indeed one of the most joyful moments of a mother’s life”, says Kurji. “I have worked very closely with women and children in communities and witnessed the huge difference in initiating and sustaining breastfeeding if mothers-to-be are counseled about the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, and new mothers are facilitated on the breastfeeding issues they face.”

The launch of this first nurse-led lactation clinic on International Nurses Day and in 2020 the Year of the Nurse and the Midwife is timely. 

As a lactation consultant, Kurji will be working closely with the University Hospital’s Obstetrics and Gynaecology department. “We strive to ensure that every mother and child are safe and receive quality, patient-centered services from us. We offer wide range of obstetric services. I am glad that we are now also enabled to offer lactation support and counseling services by a trained and internationally licensed consultant to mothers to promise a healthy start to motherhood”, shares Dr Lumaan Sheikh, interim chair and head of the obstetrics and gynaecology service line at the hospital.

“The launch of this nurse-run lactation clinic is a landmark initiative and a turning point in the profession,” Dr Rozina Karmaliani, interim dean for AKU-SONAM, said. “It marks the start of the evolving role of nurses and the importance of independent nurse and midwife practitioners.” 

Kurji shares that in future, she hopes to bring the clinic closer to communities as well as to train lady health workers and midwives in this field to enhance access to quality and cost-effective healthcare.