Abiodun Nejo, Ado Ekiti
The wife of Ekiti State Governor, Dr Olayemi Oyebanji, has said that the exclusive breastfeeding rate would increase significantly if negative norms and beliefs surrounding breastfeeding, especially giving water to babies within the first month could be stopped.
The governor’s wife, represented by the Senior Special Assistant on Community Advocacy, Dr Eunice Fasanmi, spoke in Ado Ekiti, the Ekiti State capital, on Thursday during the flag off of the World Breastfeeding Week with the theme, “Closing the gap, break the record, break barriers: Breastfeeding support for all”.
Oyebanji said that Ekiti State was still off track in meeting the global target of increasing the rate of exclusive breastfeeding to 50 per cent and the effective coverage of 90 per cent to achieve the maximum benefit from exclusive breastfeeding.
She said, “Breastfeeding is the key to sustainable development strategies as it improves nutrition, ensures food security, and reduces inequalities between and within countries.
“Findings have shown that investing in breastfeeding will prevent 13 per cent of child deaths and morbidity if 90 per cent of mothers exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first month of life.
“Globally, only 38 per cent of infants are exclusively breastfed and suboptimal breastfeeding contributes to about 800,000 infant deaths and 27.2 per cent of children below six months are currently exclusively breastfed in Nigeria”.
The governor’s wife said the UNICEF and WHO recommendation of breastfeeding for the first six months of life for a child was critical and beneficial, “because breast milk contains all the vital nutrients that the baby needs for the first six months. It also contains antibodies that fight against diseases.
“Exclusive breastfeeding implies feeding a baby with only breast milk from birth till the age of six months without adding water or any other foods. Available data also show that if negative norms and beliefs surrounding breastfeeding, most especially giving water within the first month are stopped, the exclusive breastfeeding rate will increase significantly.
“This can only be achieved when lots of awareness is created on the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding and the need to enforce the code of marketing of breast milk substitutes among infant formula producers,” she said.
The Commissioner for Health, Dr Oyebanji Filani, said cultural norms and misconceptions; lack of support from healthcare providers, family, and community; and limited access to lactation support services were among some barriers to mothers’ breastfeeding babies in Ekiti State.
Filani, represented by the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Health, Mrs. Olusola Gbenga-Igotun, said, “These gaps must be closed to ensure that all mothers can breastfeed their babies optimally.”
The commissioner urged all stakeholders to join hands with the state government to ensure that our mothers in Ekiti State have access to skilled breastfeeding practices to guarantee the best possible healthy living for their babies”.
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