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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