Exclusive breast feeding reduces infant mortality by 13% – Nutritionist

Promoting exclusive breast feeding will reduce mortality rate amongst children under five years by 13 percent , Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu, Head of Nutrition Federal Ministry of Health has said. He said it also increases children’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) by 3-10 points.  Dr Isokpunwu made this known during an interview on the sidelines of the […]

Promoting exclusive breast feeding will reduce mortality rate amongst children under five years by 13 percent , Dr Chris Osa Isokpunwu, Head of Nutrition Federal Ministry of Health has said.
He said it also increases children’s Intelligence Quotient (IQ) by 3-10 points.
 Dr Isokpunwu made this known during an interview on the sidelines of the 2016 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) event.
Dr Isokpunwu said the celebration is to draw attention to the benefits of Exclusive Breast feeding which is of great value to both mother and child adding that, “for mothers and child it fosters bonding between the two while for the child, it protects him against infections, builds his antibodies, reduces the incident of illnesses and renders some lifelong protection in adulthood against some non-communicable diseases.”
 Dr Isokpunwu said there is a high case of malnutrition in Nigeria.
“Malnutrition index in Nigeria is highest between the first two years. Wasting which is acute malnutrition is highest between 6-23 months, while stunting which is chronic malnutrition is higher after 24 months.The breast milk is supposed to supply the nutrient the child needs at that stage while supplementary food is introduced after six month s and the child keep breastfeeding until he is two years old,” he said.
 Meanwhile, the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) has said that more than five million newborns in Nigeria are deprived of essential nutrients and antibodies that protect them from disease and death as they are not being exclusively breastfed.