Hospital opens baby feeding lounge

Hospital opens baby feeding lounge

The first resting lounge for breast-feeding mothers in
Indonesia is now open in St. Carolus Hospital, Central Jakarta.

The lounge, called Maria Goretti, was opened Thursday to
commemorate National Childrens Day, which is today, and
International Breast-feeding Week from Aug. 1 to 7.

"We are concerned with the future of our children," said Mrs.
Ati Wardiman Djojonegoro, wife of Minister of Education and
Culture. "It is our responsibility to prepare them to be
independent, healthy and good human beings. It all starts from
nutrition and breast-milk."

The lounge was built by the hospital for new mothers who
cannot leave the hospitals because their babies were sick or born
prematurely. One of the first people to use the lounge was Hanna
Sugandi, a businesswoman.

Mrs. Sugandi said she no longer had to wander around the
hospital for more than 10 hours while waiting to breast-feed her
baby because she could rest in the three-by-five-meter room,
which accommodates three beds and a small television for Rp 2,500
(US$1.15) per day.

Mothers can also stay there for a fee of Rp 10,000 per night.

The fees, however, are not rigid.

"They are adjustable based on people's ability to pay," said
doctor Utami Roesli, the Chairperson of Team for Advancement of
Breast-milk Use in the St. Carolus hospital. (18)