From Sola Ojo, Kaduna
As the campaign for the six-month exclusive breastfeeding continues, some young Kaduna parents who have practised it have described it as the best gift parents can give to children they love due to its multidimensional benefits.
The Kaduna State Government in 2019 approved six-month paid maternity leave for reproductive-age women in its employment to enable them to have ample time to practice exclusive breastfeeding, the attention is now shifting to the private sector and other institutions operating in the State to key into the development.
In recent times, development partners working around maternal and infant nutrition including Alive and Thrive (AT), Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), Save the Children Internation (SCI), and United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) among others have been strengthening relevant governments’ ministries, departments and agencies on the benefits of good maternal and infant nutrition practices.
According to the National Library of Medicine, mature human milk contains 3%–5% fat, 0.8%–0.9% protein, 6.9%–7.2% carbohydrate calculated as lactose and 0.2% mineral constituents expressed as ash. Its energy content is 60–75 kcal/100 ml. Protein content is markedly higher and carbohydrate content lower in colostrum than in mature milk.
Sharing her exclusive breastfeeding experience with this correspondent, A Nutritionist and mother of four, Mrs.
Mary Ogunrinde explained the difference between her exclusively breastfed children and non-exclusively breastfed ones.
“I practice exclusive breastfeeding and the experience has been wonderful. My baby is eight months old and she is very active. My baby is not experiencing any of those diseases associated with infancy.
“The practice has saved me from buying infant formulas because I knew what it meant when I had my first twins. Then, I had to buy a brand weekly. This exclusive breastfeeding has been so wonderful both for my active baby and me as a mother.
“You always see that difference between a child that is fed exclusively on breast milk for the first six months and the one that is fed with infant substitute formulas.
“As a Nutritionist, I have heard a lot of success stories from mothers who have practised this exclusive breastfeeding. Every woman reading this with the support of her husband and other family members is expected to be a part of that success story except if there is a medical condition that may prevent them from doing so.
“It is cheaper, it is devoid of chemical intake and it saves the family from unnecessary expenses. Exclusive breastfeeding serves as a family planning method for some mothers based on their anatomy”, she said.
To a young father of two who has been married for five years, Mike Aboh, his exclusively breastfeeding children are doing well medically and academically.
“I have been married for five years now and God has blessed the marriage with two children. For the two of them, I have supported my wife to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
“I have seen that the benefit of this exclusive breastfeeding is enormous. That is why I want to use this opportunity to call on husbands to support their wives to practice exclusive breastfeeding.
“My children are growing perfectly without any illness. Teething has become so easy for them. None of my children has been hospitalised during the teething process. My older child who has started school is very sharp. He does not forget anything he hears,” he said.
