Janet Ogundepo
The Special Adviser to the Lagos State Governor on Health, Dr Kemi Ogunyemi, has asked nursing mothers not to be ashamed of breastfeeding their babies in public.
Ogunyemi, however, advised them to use breast covers to maintain privacy.
She emphasised that breastfeeding was the easiest and cheapest way to feed babies, stating that it protected the family’s finances and created a safe environment.
Ogunyemi spoke at a press briefing on Tuesday on the upcoming 2024 World Breastfeeding Week and Maternal, Newborn, Child and Adolescent Health plus Newborn Week.
The World Breastfeeding Week is held annually on August 1-7 to create awareness and initiate action on the importance of breastfeeding.
According to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, WBW is celebrated in commemoration of the 1990 Innocenti Declaration.
The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund recommend that babies initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth and be exclusively breastfed within the first six months of life.
The WHO states that breastfeeding provides all the energy and nutrients that infants need for the first months of life and is important to ensure optimal growth and development for increased chances of survival.
The agency noted that about half of infants under six months old were exclusively breastfed.
Speaking further, Ogunyemi explained that breast milk, particularly the colostrum, the first milk produced after delivery, protects babies from childhood killer diseases.
“Breastfeeding practice also preserves the environment and conserves financial resources for the family and the society. Breastfeeding practice makes the world a more secure place, as studies have shown that breastfed babies exhibit appropriate behaviour during adulthood,” she said.
Continuing, the special adviser stated, “Lagos State will be joining other states of the Federation and FCT to commemorate the 2024 World Breastfeeding Week by holding a ground-breaking breastfeeding campaign, where over 36,000 women will be mobilized to breastfeed their children at midday across the country during the week. The theme for 2024 World Breastfeeding Week is ‘Closing the Gap, Breastfeeding Support for All.’
“This theme speaks to every support needed by a lactating mother to encourage her to adequately breastfeed her baby. This support must be given by every stakeholder, the baby’s father, grandmother, religious and community leaders, employers, colleagues, friends, etc.
“The objectives of 2024 World Breastfeeding Week are the promotion of exclusive breastfeeding from the first six months of life, shift harmful norms and practices, combat social stigma, and support the growth and development of babies through the commission of critical nutrients.”
To further improve the health outcomes for pregnant and nursing mothers in the state, Ogunyemi noted that the state ensured the continuous capacity building of healthcare providers, provision of free antenatal and postnatal care and delivery for pregnant women, as well as the intensification of food demonstration classes for nursing mothers to prevent both mother and child malnutrition, among other interventions.
She added that breastfeeding was the most convenient way to feed babies and called for the provision of a private space for breastfeeding mothers while in public.
“Breastfeeding is the most convenient, even if you’re out there in public. It doesn’t need a temperature check, it doesn’t need hot water, and for you to be shaking a bottle. It’s the quickest and the easiest. The bonding between mothers and their babies during breastfeeding is one thing we have not talked about because mothers don’t realise that they bond well with their babies when they breastfeed. The baby is looking at them and there is a psychological impact on breastfeeding as well. So, we’re trying to encourage that.
“Also, about the economic value, you’re not spending more money on a formula that you have to read and ensure you have the exact amount and that some babies may even be allergic to. If you go to the market, there are several types of formulas, there are even those for babies that are allergic to a particular food. There is no change in the breast milk, there is nothing at all. That is why this is a big deal,” she stated.
The special adviser emphasised the need to establish breastfeeding rooms in public places.
She further urged busy breastfeeding mothers to learn how to express and properly store their breastmilk to ensure their babies remain exclusively breastfed.
Also, the Director of Family Health and Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health, Dr Folashade Oludara, encouraged nursing mothers to use breast covers while breastfeeding in public.
She called on employers to support lactating mothers in their organisations by providing private spaces for breastfeeding.
“A lactating mother requires the support of everybody; the community, the father, the religious leaders, and all that. We are supposed to encourage churches to have places where lactating mothers can breastfeed their babies,” Oludara said.
Also speaking, the Permanent Secretary, Dr. Olusegun Ogboye, emphasised that every newborn needs to be breastfed, stating that the current economic situation should encourage the adoption of breastfeeding which is free and provides a complete nutritional package.
He called on everyone to support and encourage nursing mothers to consistently breastfeed their babies.
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