Coronavirus pandemic| IIT Bombay’s Spoken Tutorial Project launches helpline for mothers stuck at home

Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bombay’s Spoken Tutorial Project has launched a new toll-free helpline for mothers stuck at home due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Here, expert guidance will be provided for queries pertaining to premature babies, under-nourished infants, child nutrition, breastfeeding and mother’s nutrition.

The institute in a statement said that all the queries will be answered by doctors, nutritionists and field officers with more than 10 years of experience.

“The new ‘Maa Aur Shishu Poshan’ (mother and child nutrition) helpline  number  1800 -267-7782  is  now available in Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Gujarati and English,” said IIT Bombay.

The Spoken Tutorial project is funded by the National Mission on Education through Information and Communication Technology, launched by the Ministry of Human Resources and Development (MHRD). This project is developed at IIT Bombay for MHRD.

Under Maa aur Shishu initiative, from 2018 onwards, the Spoken Tutorial Project has created educational tutorials on breastfeeding, various holds of breastfeeding, complementary feeding, maternal nutrition, breastfeeding difficulties and infant care topics.

This has been dubbed into 14 languages, used to train Anganwadi workers, ASHA workers, auxiliary nurses, nursing students and lady health visitors.

The novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, pandemic has spread across 180 countries. April 1 is the eighth day of India's 21-day lockdown. This lockdown has mandated people to stay indoors except stepping out to purchase essentials or medical emergencies, in a bid to contain the spread.

The total number of reported COVID-19 cases in India stands at 1,397. The Union Health Ministry has said that 35 people have died due to the virus.