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)