Exclusive breast feeding the best for your child -Dr Asibong

Children who are breast fed exclusively for six months tend to outpace their mates who are not, experts and nursing mothers testified on Thursday at a breastfeeding forum. 

Experts quoting the WHO said six months of exclusive breastfeeding would fortify an infant’s immunity, sharpen their cognition, and improve mother-child affection.

 Nursing mothers who practice exclusive breastfeeding, and those who claimed to have suckled none but breastmilk for the first six months pointed to their children’s bright academic records and to their own unique wellness. “Children whom we breastfeed for six months are very different, like my first daughter ,” said Sylvia Bassey a nursing mother with a charming toddler, “She is very smart and some say she acts like a 5 year old, whereas she is only 3.” Yet for all it’s benefits the practice is only slowly gaining acceptance in Cross River State.

 Statistics quoted by Inyang Asibong, the Health Commissioner, show Cross River at 42 per cent compliace in 2015, (up from 36.1 per cent the previous year). Dr Asibong said the rates where unacceptable, but assured that the health ministry and development partners were working to achieve “80 per cent or thereabout” in 2016. 

 In a passionate speech to open the meeting, which had mothers, mothers-in-law, and husbands attend from the Akampka-Bakassi axis, Asibong made a plea in both English and vernacular for mothers to adopt exclusive breastfeeding and for husbands and relatives to support to them. “Breastfeeding is a natural and excellent way to ensure that babies receive adequate nutrition necessary for normal growth and development of anychild with a good start in life,” she said. Although she acknowleged the campaign faces misconceptions which may hinder mass adoption: that it consumes time, leads to saggy breasts, causes mothers to eat too much making them overweight, makes children unable to adapt to regular food at the end of six months; she dismissed such concerns stating “these are just myths.” But several mothers spoke about pressure from overbearing mothers-in-law who insist that their grand children ought to consume ‘normal food’ along side breastmilk in the first six months. Others said their husbands simply objected to the practice.

 Asibong broke into a wide grin when her own husband, a consultant family physician, walked in during her presentation, and thanked him and all other husbands who attended, for the show of support. Exclusively breastfeeding for two years, another old myth, was also cast aside. Citing the WHO, Betta Edu, who heads the Primary Health Care Agency, said breast milk could only meet the child’s nutritional needs for the first six months, adding that regular food should be introduced thereafter. Boladale Akinkolapo, a senior physician with the Society for Family Health (SFH) which organised the programme alongside the ministry of health, said babies should be allowed to suckle whenever they wanted to. However, schooling or career mothers can express breast milk into a clean sterilised cup, which would be fed to the child by a relative or a creche worker using a clean spoon if the mother is indisposed, she added. She said that it was now considered unhealthy to use feeding bottles or pacifiers because they can harbour germs. 

 SFH says it will continue the campaign in health centres and rural communities using trained Interpersonal Communicators (IPCs) and mass media.