Ebonyi State government, nursing mothers, community leaders and other stakeholders in the health sector have attributed the decline in exclusive breastfeeding to poverty, Illiteracy, ignorance and superstitious beliefs.
Some of the stakeholders who spoke with LEADERSHIP Weekend called for an urgent step to address the decline as it is gradually becoming a norm for young mothers not to exclusively breastfeed their babies at least for six months.
The head of nutrition, Ebonyi State Ministry of Health, Mr Cyprian Ogbonna said the level of exclusive breastfeeding, not just in Ebonyi State but generally across the country, is declining on a daily basis.
“There are factors that could be attributed to its decline; one is the high level of illiteracy of our mothers, ignorance, poverty and some superstitious beliefs.
“Some of our mothers, because of a high level of illiteracy, if you tell them to breastfeed, they would ask you whether you were breastfed that way when you were born. Because at a younger age, some of us were drinking water, hot water with ‘horse bone’ in it.
“They will make it warm and use it to fill your stomach. And we know there are no nutrients in water. Even in the present age, some mothers still believe in the old method of breastfeeding pattern. We are advocating that the moment a baby is born, that baby needs only breast milk. Minutes after delivery, the baby needs to be put to the breast.
“A mother needs to feed well to exclusively breastfeed a baby but the high level of poverty in the country is also affecting the process. Many of our mothers are not doing the needful; many of them don’t have the enablement, the capacity to engage in exclusive breastfeeding.
“Some mothers are also ignorant of the advantages of exclusive breastfeeding. Some don’t believe that breast milk can give their baby what they want. They still think that they can go to market, buy any type of milk and feed their baby, especially the high class.
“Any child that is exclusively breastfed turns out to be a healthy child. With the support of partners like the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), the campaign for exclusive breastfeeding has been taken down to even the remotest parts of society.”
A nursing mother, Mrs Ngozi Ewa said that she embraced exclusive breastfeeding of her children after a lecture in one of their August meetings in Afikpo local government area.
“During the lecture, we were informed that any child that is properly breastfed exclusively, that child will not grow to experience malnutrition. I decided to exclusively breastfeed my other children and sincerely, the difference is very clear.
A health worker in the state, Mrs Florence Igwe said, “Exclusive breastfeeding for six months and more fortifies the immunity of a child.
“Whatever happens after that immunity fortification, that child will not have any other problem. In our different health facilities across the 13 local government areas of the state, part of our mandate by the Ministry of Health is to educate mothers on the need for exclusive breastfeeding.
“Though we are still having some hitches because some mothers still live with the old mentality. Even when a young mother agrees to exclusively breastfeed her baby, it has been observed that the ageing parents usually secretly administer water to the child when the mother is away.
“A child that is not exclusively breastfed has ‘loose immunity.’ What it shows is that if there’s an epidemic, any child who is not exclusively breastfed will pick it up because he or she has low immunity. So that child may not survive it but a child that is exclusively breastfed has high immunity.”
A community women leader, Mrs Mgborie Agwu expressed concern over the new trend of young mothers who believe that if they breastfeed their babies, their breast would drastically depreciate.
“It is disheartening to see a young mother saying that she won’t breastfeed her child because she doesn’t want her breast to fall. I have always told them that ‘whether you breastfeed or not, your breast will fall when the time comes.’
“Some, their children will be crying and they will be so ashamed to bring out their breast to breastfeed them. I wonder what they are hiding. In our own time, it wasn’t like this.”
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