Creating enabling environment for breastfeeding mothers

By our reporters How exclusive breastfeeding benefits mothers, babies Ways to breastfeed during COVID-19 — Nutritionist How to overcome work place challenges Lami, a mother of four, said her last child benefitted very much from exclusive breastfeeding. She said she breastfed him exclusively for six months and he was healthier as an infant than his […]

By our reporters

• How exclusive breastfeeding benefits mothers, babies
• Ways to breastfeed during COVID-19 — Nutritionist
• How to overcome work place challenges

Lami, a mother of four, said her last child benefitted very much from exclusive breastfeeding.

She said she breastfed him exclusively for six months and he was healthier as an infant than his elder siblings. “I did not give him water and other complementary foods as I gave his siblings within the first six months of life. He was well nourished, intelligent and healthy.

“He didn’t suffer from diarrhoea and other illnesses, so I wasn’t frequenting the hospital. Breastfeeding also created a bond between me and him.”

She, however, added that said she had to make extra effort to exclusively breastfeed her son during the last three months when she resumed work, because there was no lactation or breastfeeding room so she had to make frequent trips between her office and the parking lot to her car.

She called for more enabling environment to allow women effectively and exclusively breastfeed, saying some women want to give their children the best of health but faced difficulties because of the environment they find themselves

Exclusive breastfeeding means giving infants nothing but breast milk.

Breastfeeding provides every child with the best possible start in life. It delivers health, nutritional and emotional benefits to both children and mothers.

Experts said exclusive breastfeeding holds a lot of benefits for the overall growth and development of the child. They say it contributes to the health and well-being of mother and child, and is one the most cost effective source of reducing infant mortality and promoting a healthy nation.

They said the first breast milk also contains nutrition that protects the newborn from diseases, and that all children who are exclusively breastfed are less likely to fall sick.

However, while nearly all children in Nigeria are breastfed at one point or the other, exclusive breastfeeding rate in the country remains one of the lowest in the world. According to the 2018 National Nutrition Health Survey (NNHS), only about 1 in 3 of our children are exclusively breastfed.

The survey said almost 97% of children are breastfed at one time or the other, but only about 27% of children are exclusively breastfed with only about 1 in 5 put to breast within the first hour of life.

Some mothers however complain that unfriendly work places and schedules hamper their efforts to exclusively breastfed. While breastfeeding is a natural process, it is not always easy. Mothers need support – both to get started and to sustain exclusive breastfeeding.

According to Dr Uche Ralph Opara, a Team lead and coordinator or Alive and thrive, Lagos, investment in maternal and child health was key to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Speaking during a webinar to commemorate this year’s World Breastfeeding Day, organised by Alive and Thrive in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Health and other partners, she said it was important for government and the private sector to create family friendly work places.

The theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Day is ‘Supporting Breastfeeding for a Healthier Planet,’ The webinar was moderated by Dr Chris Isokpunwu, Head of Nutrition and Senior Technical Assistant to the Minister of Health.

Dr Opara said a maternity survey done by Alive and Thrive, the Ministry of Health and UNICEF across six states revealed that only 9% of organisations have breastfeeding policies in place and only 1.5% of public sector organisations provided breastfeeding spaces for women to breastfeed babies when at work.

She said while 72% of women were in favour of extending maternity leave from three months to six months, only 30% of them were willing to take the entire six at a stretch because of fear around financial security, loss of salaries and career.

She said government could do the following to support women to breastfeed: Implement family friendly policy that allows women four to six months paid leave, engage the informal sector to promote breastfeeding friendly environment so that mothers can effectively breastfeed, guarantee job security for mothers, and also identify, monitor and enforce mechanisms against discrimination against breastfeeding mothers in work places.

Dr Opara said private and public organisations should provide lactation rooms in their offices to enable mothers to continue breastfeeding while at work, and also ensure flexible work hours.

Dr Shittu Abdu–Aguye said supporting mothers to breastfeed was a collective effort including support from spouses.

Fears on transmission of COVID-19 through breastfeeding

Breastfeeding requires skin to skin contact between a mother and her baby so there is heightening fear of transmission of COVID-19 from mother to child.

Prof. Beatrice Ogunba, a nutritionist said there was presently no evidence that supports vertical transmission of COVID-19 through a mother’s breast milk.

She said all that mothers need to do is to breastfeed in line with the World Health Organisation’s (WHO) protocol on breastfeeding.

Ogunba, who is a member of the Nutrition Society of Nigeria, said breastfeeding skin to skin helps breast milk supply and helps in stimulating prolactin and oxytocin, as well as help the child to relax.

She said breastfeeding was effective against infectious diseases because it strengthens the immune system by direct transfer of antibodies from mother to child

“So all the mother needs to do is follow the WHO protocol on breastfeeding. The protocol requires that as a breastfeeding mother you wash your hands for 20 seconds with soap and water. The breastfeeding mother must make sure that she disinfects all surfaces before she touches them.

If water is not available she should use hand sanitizer before having contact with her child.”

She said a mother that is already infected with COVID-19 should also follow the protocol adding, “But if she is too sick, she should express breast milk with hands that are washed properly or use a dedicated breast milk pump in order not to pass infection to her baby.”

 

By Ojoma Akor & Olayemi John-Mensah