Breastfeeding: It’s an obligation of both parents

Andile Tshuma

The first week of August signifies one of the most important events on the nutrition calendar. 

It is often believed that breastfeeding comes naturally to babies and mothers. However, despite many beliefs out there, the lactating practice can be difficult for many new mothers. Not only does it affect the baby, but it can affect the mother too. This means that mothers need all the support they can get to help the breastfeeding process to be smooth and productive. 

This year running under the theme, “Empower parents. Enable breastfeeding”, World Breastfeeding Week seeks to show that breastfeeding is not a matter that only concerns the mother but both parents. While it is the mum responsible for producing the precious liquid, the father of the child contributes through moral support and owning up to some tasks and responsibilities that come with parenting. The theme recognises the importance of team effort in breastfeeding and parenting in general. 

Family friendly policies are important for working parents. Mothers need time off from work to recover from birth and get breastfeeding off to a successful start. 

According to the World Health Organisation, time off work is also necessary for fathers as paid paternity leave allows them to get time to bond with their babies and it promotes gender equality including sharing of child rearing and household responsibilities. 

A 2018 Unicef report says breastfeeding rates within the first hour after birth are highest in Eastern and Southern Africa at 65 percent with Zimbabwe performing well above average at 69 percent. The statistics are lowest in East Asia and the pacific, at 32 percent. Nearly seven in every 10 babies born in Zimbabwe are breast fed within the first hour. 

Breastfeeding is a universal solution that levels the playing field and gives every child a fair start to life. Families, workplaces and communities ought to support lactating mothers to help increase breastfeeding rates in the country. Early initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth protects the new born from acquiring infections and reduces new born mortality. 

The Ministry of Health and Child Care adopted WHO and Unicef recommendations to embrace good infant feeding practices. 

In 2016, Zimbabwean legislature made history by being the first African country to allow women to bring babies to Parliament.  Gender activist and legislator Priscilla Misihairabwi-Mushonga presented a cake to the Speaker of the House of Assembly Advocate Jacob Mudenda as a token of appreciation for providing a room for mothers to breastfeed their babies during Parliamentary sessions. 

The Ministry of Health and Child Care, through its many departments and multiple partner organisations has done commendable work in encouraging breastfeeding culture among Zimbabwean women. 

In Bulawayo, the City Council’s health department is also doing tremendous work at the council clinics where there are resource persons who help first time mothers cope with breastfeeding and other joys and sorrows of motherhood. I have observed a number of times nurses holding morning seminars where parents, mostly mothers are taught about the value of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and the value of breastfeeding a baby for up to 18 months. World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from August 1 to August 7 to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world. It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, Unicef and other organisations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

This year, WHO is working with Unicef and partners to promote the importance of family-friendly policies to enable breastfeeding and help parents nurture and bond with their children in early life, when it matters most. This includes enacting paid maternity leave for a minimum of 18 weeks, and paid paternity leave to encourage shared responsibility of caring for their children on an equal basis. Mothers also need access to a parent friendly workplace to protect and support their ability to continue breastfeeding upon return to work by having access to breastfeeding breaks; a safe, private, and hygienic space for expressing and storing breast milk and affordable childcare.

Breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. Increasing breastfeeding to near-universal levels could save more than 800 000 lives every year, the majority being children under six months. Breastfeeding decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes and heart disease. It is estimated that increased breastfeeding could avert 20 000 maternal deaths each year due to breast cancer. WHO recommends exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth until a baby is six months old. Nutritious complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond.

You Might Also Like

Comments