Lack Of Support, Bane Of Successful Breastfeeding Practices – Don

The coordinator, Breastfeeding Hospital Initiative (BFHI), Univrsity of Port Harcourt Teaching Hospital (UPTH), Prof Augusta Eneh, has identified lack of support and marginalisation by the community as two leading tactors militating against successful breastfeeding targets by nursing mothers.

Prof Eneh who is also Head of Department, Paedratics UPTH, stated this at this year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) celebration at the hospital.

According to her, “when women want to breastfeed, there are many things that interfere with their success, but most important one is the education and support of  the medical professionals in the mother’s life.”

She said the occasion was designed by Would Health Organisation (WHO), to create awareness on the importance and benefits of breastfeeding, and explained every year adding that this year’s is the 20th celebration.

She said breastfeeding has many health benefits, both for the mother and baby as well as their entire family since it ensures the mothers well-being and saves money that would have otherwise been spent of alternative baby’s milk.

On whether or not HIV positive mothers should breastfeed, she said WHO has recommended that all babies be breastfeed exclusively, for the first six months of their life and continue to two years, while one year is recommended for the HIV positive mother ensuring she and her baby were taking their anti-retroviral drugs, starting as soon as the baby is born for six weeks.

She explained that WHO reasoned that more HIV babies die when not breastfed and added that breastfeeding is essential for child survival, growth and development and expressed the hope that this year’s theme, “Talk To Me! Breastfeeding -3D Experience”, which seeks to open communication channels to include the youths, would indeed create the expected impact.

Speaking in a lecture on the theme, Dr Kinikanwo Green, said successful breastfeeding, reduces under five mortality rate by 13 per cent, extreme blood loss after delivery’ and also reduces aneamia and prevents breasts and ovarian cancer.

He further said that it is an essential part in protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding and added that it  also supports all the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) as an important aspect in the development of women and their empowerment as well as improve their well being.  While fielding questions from participants, Director, Institute of Maternal and Child Health, UPTH, Professor Alice Nte, said breastfeeding, is good because, it helps to expel the plancenta and contract the womb.

She explained that the pain breastfeeding mothers feel while breastfeeding is the contraction of the womb indicating that breastfeeding was successful and advised women who complain about weight gain during breastfeeding to “eat only to satisfy your hunger and drink only to satisfy your thirst.”

She urged mothers to insist on having their babies put their breast, 30 minutes after delivery, to help expel the placenta faster.

Chairman, Medical Advisory Council, UPTH, Dr Christy Mato, who represented the Chief Medical Director, UPTH, Dr Aaron Ojule, applauded the organisers for the programme and charged everyone especially fathers to be part of the breastfeeding process in the home.

She explained that this would help also in the bonding of fathers and their children, improve communication between them and pointed out that this would culminate into better behaved children.