Essential for development in the first months of life, breast milk is considered the "golden food" by the World Health Organization (WHO), giving rise to the "Golden August" campaign, which encourages breastfeeding. To reinforce support for the campaign, Rio de Janeiro soccer player Sole Jaimes, who is four months pregnant, visited the Mariska Ribeiro Municipal Hospital, a reference in women's and maternal and child health, in Bangu, in the West Zone of Rio de Janeiro, last Tuesday (15). As part of the Golden August activities program, the athlete received guidance on the breastfeeding process, the importance of breast milk in child development, and the role of the father in this process.

"I was very grateful to have participated in this initiative. I'm also very happy for this new moment in my life, the motherhood I'm beginning to experience. I learned a lot that afternoon and was happy with the way I was welcomed. It's wonderful to know that there are public hospitals with such high quality that can help so many people," said Sole Jaimes.  

Accompanying the player, mascots Binho and Urubão were also present on this visit, taking photos, distributing gifts and presenting pregnant women and new mothers with licensed Flamengo products aimed at early childhood. 

"Encouraging breastfeeding is among our main missions as a public health unit, a reference in women's health and maternity. We know how precious and essential breast milk is for babies; it saves lives. Therefore, expressions of support for this cause, such as the visit by the Clube de Regatas de Flamengo team, reinforcing the Golden August campaign, are very important and more than welcome," celebrated Vivian Folly, general director of Mariska Ribeiro Hospital. She also noted that the unit's recently opened milk bank is open to breastfeeding women who wish to donate. The unit has 121 beds and a Neonatal ICU. Each month, it performs an average of 2 emergency care appointments, 320 deliveries, and 700 high-risk prenatal consultations.

As part of the Women's Hospital's humanization proposal, Sole Jaimes received a beautiful pregnancy painting, which allowed her to understand how her baby is positioned inside her belly.