Why Not Breast Milk?

From the look of things the lady would be a working class lady, in her early 30s. She sat quietly, her baby fast asleep on her back at the bank reception, staring occasionally at the bank teller. The rest of us were on a queue murmuring and gnashing out at each other after a hard day’s work. Somewhere along the line, the docile baby suddenly jolted awake, as usual this is ushered by a loud cry.

All efforts to pacify the child proved abortive, as the baby was bent on crying out all day long. The mother changed diapers, sang and tried all she could, but it seems there was nothing that would make the baby quiet. Obviously, something was imminently wrong, this crying continued until an elderly woman on the queue who had keenly observed the situation, shouted at the lady “this baby is hungry!”. By this time all eyes were on this woman for awhile, she was numb to the shouts asking her to breast-feed the baby in public. This generated a heated argument amongst in the bank reception which almost led to an outburst. After so many interventions, the woman reluctantly complied with the wishes of the child.

This particular scenario highlights the common trend among Nigerian women, especially the educated ones. Sequel to this article we highlighted the rate at which EBF (Exclusive Breast-Feeding) is dwindling among Nigeria and the world generally as less than 40% of women worldwide breast-feed. It is important to note that most women give reasons.

 Here are some of the things some women have to say Mrs. Aderonke (A journalist with a daily tabloid, young mother) “most women can’t afford to expose their breast to public glare”, she went further saying that “many people criticize women who breast-feed publicly”. over the years many woman have discarded the act of breast-feeding and adopted the well known Infant formulas. According to Mrs. Theresa (A banker and a young mother on Lagos Island) explained that part of the reasons she stop breastfeeding her baby early was that her breast began to sag, “even my husband didn’t want me to continue”.

 Some women also complained that Breast fed infants tend to cry a lot and get hungry quickly thus they can’t cope with the demand of breast feeding every 10 minutes. Dr. Ajayi Abimbola Deputy Director on Nutrition, Lagos State Ministry of Health in an article explained that, the breast milk is composed of 90% water, which is everything a child needs for growth, and the first substance that comes out of the breast when feeding the baby is water after which the ‘milk like substance’ both have very important roles in the process of breast feeding as the child is satisfied quickly owning to their minute stomach. Within 10 minutes they urinate, flushing out and cleaning their system with the water in the feed but the nutrient is retained. Thus, the child becomes hungry again which oftentimes leads to the crying.

EBF as we know is a singular method of reducing infant mortality. It’s beneficial to both Mother and Child, Newborns that are not breastfed exclusively for at least 6 months are more than three times at greater risk of Sepsis or other infections; 69% risk of respiratory infections  and diarrhea [1].

The health benefits for babies at a glance

1)      The first milk Mothers produce during the first few days of their babies delivery is called ‘Colostrum’ which contains antibodies that helps in enhancing  a strong immune system for the baby [2].

2)       Breast feeding is crucial in minimizing life threatening illnesses, as newborns that are not breast fed within the first hour of life are twice as likely to die in their first month of life, compared to those babies who were breastfed within their first hour [4]

3)      Breastfeeding could also protect against future occurrence of obesity, overweight, type1 diabetes. [5]

The health benefits for Mothers.

1)      When a mother breast feeds immediately after birth ‘oxytoxin’ is released into the body, this hormone helps in the contraction of the mothers uterus. Studies have revealed that a woman uterus during pregnancy is about 20 times its normal size, thus Breast feeding helps a Mother get her normal figure (complete book of pregnancy).

2)       Many studies have shown that women who breast feed are at a lower risk of developing breast cancer. Experts have touted that incidence of breast cancer in developing countries could be reduced by half if Mothers exclusively breast feed their  babies

3)      Many evidences have suggested that breast feeding can significantly reduce the risk of ovarian cancer.

                                                                                                       

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