An Asaba-based Nutri
tionist, Dr Philip Izedome, has stressed the need for adequate breastfeeding by mothers in order to ensure healthy children and check infant mortality.
He made the call in an interview with the newsmen in Asaba.
He said adequate breast feeding of children between ages one to six months was very important for healthy growth of children.
Izedome said that the development of children largely depended on the amount of breast milk taken at their tender age.
According to him, new born babies need adequate breast milk in the first six months of their lives.
He noted that breast milk would help to reduce the risk of malnutrition and help children to maintain steady growth.
“Breast milk has been identified as the best source of nutrition for new born babies and the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends that mothers should breast feed their children for at least  six months,’’ he said.
The nutritionist then advised pregnant women to pay adequate attention to their diet, adding that this would help in the development of the unborn child.
He noted that “babies that are well nourished in the womb will always be healthy when they are born.
“Pregnant women should eat foods that are rich in protein, carbohydrate, fats, calcium and water.’’
He also enjoined them to ensure that they adhered to doctors’ prescription in taking their routine drugs.