The NCR Breastfeeding Friends (BFFs) continuously provide free online counseling on infant and young child feeding (IYCF) to mothers and caregivers through their Online IYCF Counseling Project.
The Online IYCF Counseling Project is a COVID-19 response of the City/District Nutrition Program Coordinators of Metro Manila Association, Inc. with the assistance of National Nutrition Council – NCR. It was launched on April 8, 2020 during the lockdown due to the pandemic and access to face-to-face counseling was not possible.
The NCR BFFs are members of the Association who are licensed Nutritionist-Dietitians trained on IYCF. The BFFs or online IYCF counselors provide free counseling to mothers to help them in their breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices for infants and young children less than two years old.
In a meeting conducted on February 9, 2022, Regional Nutrition Program Coordinator of NNC-NCR, Ms. Milagros Elisa Federizo, thanked the NCR BFFs for their voluntary service as IYCF counselors. Since its launch in 2020, the Association has helped three hundred thirty-seven (337) pregnant and lactating mothers and caregivers on various breastfeeding and complementary feeding concerns.
RNPC Federizo encouraged the NCR BFFs to intensify the promotion of correct IYCF practices through the Online IYCF Counseling Project to increase the percentage of mothers practicing breastfeeding and appropriate complementary feeding.
“Sana ay hindi natin malimutan ang mga nanay na walang access sa information,” RNPC Federizo said. She encouraged the BFFs to continue helping more mothers breastfeed successfully and feed their infants nutritious and age-appropriate foods in addition to breastmilk starting at 6 months of age. She added, “Sana ay magamit itong Online IYCF Counseling Project para mas tumaas ang practice ng breastfeeding dahil ito ay challenge pa rin hanggang ngayon”.
The NNC-NCR regularly conducts meetings with NCR BFFs for status updates on the project and case management discussions to provide members with a venue to share their experiences, learnings and challenges encountered during online counseling.
Written by: NOII Theresa A. Rivas and
NPC Milagros Elisa V. Federizo
Click this link to know more on how to avail the online counseling service: https://www.facebook.com/photo?fbid=263568612591778&set=a.172370521711588
