Experts make case for exclusive breastfeeding of infants in Nigeria

 …as two-thirds reduction in infant mortality key in achieving MDG target

When The Innocenti Declaration was produced and adopted by participants at the World Health Organisation/United Nations Children Emergency Fund (UNICEF) policymakers' meeting on “Breastfeeding in the 1990s: A Global Initiative in Italy,” the declaration was aimed at drawing up strategies for protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding as well as encouraging national authorities in planning, implementing, and evaluating breastfeeding policies.

Amongst other things were to reduce the number of deaths caused by acute respiratory infection and diarrhoea - two major childhood killers in infants-through improved feeding and reinforce a "breastfeeding culture" in a quest to reduce the "bottle-feeding culture".

Sadly, despite efforts by international agencies like UNICEF and other governmental agencies like the National Agency for Food, Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), too many babies still suffer from malnutrition and even die in many cases due to these infants not being exclusively breast fed thus further increasing the worsening infant mortality index in Nigeria.

It is on this premise that health experts in the country have tasked nursing mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies during the babies’ developmental stages so as to nip in the bud the issue of infant mortality.

In an interview with BusinessDay, Kemi Olukoya, a Public Health Physician from the Department of Community Health & Primary Care, College of Medicine, University of Lagos, revealed that exclusive breastfeeding is critical during the developmental stages of the new born even in the 21st century when the roles and responsibilities of women are fast changing.

Olukoya explained that breastfeeding, which is one of the four most important WHO’s strategy for improving infant and child survival, is likened to ‘vaccination’, which prevent infants against every infection.

The public health expert hinted that a mother’s breast milk not only provides ideal nutrition for infants as well as contribute to their healthy growth and development, it also contributes to women's health by reducing the risk of breast and ovarian cancer.

In her words “Studies has found out that t when there is an infection, specialised white blood cells appears in the breast milk to protect the baby against infection. In many instances, the long-term protective effects of breastfeeding are related to its duration. The risks of a number of serious disorders, such as coeliac disease and insulin-dependent diabetes increase when babies are not breast fed.

“When you breastfeed your baby, you reduce the risk of developing breast cancer later in life by 25 percent. Studies also show significant increases in intelligent quotient (IQ) of babies who are breast fed. It also protects children against dental problems. However, to overcome challenges that comes with breastfeeding, nursing women should make a firm commitment to breastfeed exclusively, get better informed of the challenges and work out possible solutions to ensure that the baby is fed before hand by requesting for support from one’s partner including one’s family,” Olukoya stated.

For her part, Abimbola Mabogunje, a public health expert disclosed that in order to achieve the MDG’s as related to improving the infant and child mortality in Nigeria, exclusive breast feeding for six months should be encouraged and supported.

While acknowledging the fact that immediate breastfeeding of a new born within the first hour, followed by early exclusive breastfeeding, improves the health and survival status of newborns, Mabogunje revealed that about one-fourth to half of all infant deaths in developing countries occur in the first week of life.

According to Mabogunje “It is proposed that exclusive breastfeeding for six months, followed by continued breastfeeding to 12 months, could prevent 1,301,000 deaths or 13 per cent of all child deaths under 5 years in a hypothetical year. It is noteworthy to state that while the rate of exclusive breast-feeding is low, particularly in West Africa, the feeding practices are often inadequate as feeding with water and other liquids to breastfeed infants is a widespread practice.”

Taking a look at exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) of infants in the country, it is sad to state that the struggle to inculcate the culture of EBF has been fraught with restrictive realities, such as the difficulty of career mothers who have to spend an average of nine hours in office, almost invariably away from the newborn baby. Even with existing labour laws, a nursing mother can only spend three months on maternity leave. These challenges have over the years led to a rise in the rate of bottle-feeding in some countries exceeding 30 percent in Tunisia, Nigeria, Namibia and Sudan.

Little wonder EBF rates in Nigeria are amongst the lowest in the world with 17.2 percent of infants said to be exclusively breastfed. Even when compared with other neighbouring countries in the West African region, Nigeria poorly lags behind Ghana (53.4 percent), Republic of Benin (43.1 percent) and Cameroon (23.5 percent) [25-27].

Given this eventualities, there is no gain saying that EBF promotion programmes should target all mothers, but with special focus on poor and illiterate families, mothers who delivered at home and mothers who have had no antenatal clinic visits. Aside these, intervention studies, including peer counselling are needed to improve EBF among mothers and those having their first baby.

For Mabogunje "there is the need to strengthen primary healthcare facilities and systems so that expectant mothers as well as nursing mothers can access healthcare easily as well as get more informed on best practices needed to improve the child's survival even as  they make these nursing mothers see the importance of EBF within six months of an infant’s birth. This is aimed at meeting with 2015 been the target date to achieve the Millennium Development Goals, (MDGs), which sets to reduce infant mortality by two-thirds.”