The United Nations Children’s Fund Nutrition Specialist Philomena Irene has urged more fathers and grandmothers to support exclusive breastfeeding......Read The Full Article>>.....Read The Full Article>>
Irene made the call during a two-day media dialogue organised for journalists from Gombe, Bauchi, Taraba, Adamawa, and Plateau states.
She said, “We have been devoting attention to women. It’s time to focus on men (fathers). They have a say in what their wives do. They have a part to play in whether a woman will do the zero-six months exclusive breastfeeding or not.”
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Following this renewed campaign and awareness, a 48-year-old father of 13 children, Alhaji Ibrahim Ibraheema, has expressed regret over his ignorance of the past when he insisted that his wives expel the colostrum of their breast milk, thinking it was unhealthy for his children.
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Ibraheema, from Jimeta, Adamawa State, who is married to two wives, told Arewa PUNCH that he encouraged his wives to waste the yellowish content of their early breast milk thinking he was protecting his children.
Arewa PUNCH reports that Colostrum is the first breast milk that flows from the mammary glands after childbirth. It is densed in nutrients and antibodies to build the newborn immune system.
In fact, experts have ascribed to it the liquid gold due to its far-reaching effect in babies.
Ibraheema, while speaking with Arewa PUNCH at Ajiya Primary Health Centre Jimeta, said in the Hausa language, “I have two wives and 13 children when I was informed about how important exclusive breastfeeding is for babies, I didn’t believe it. We (himself and spouses) usually extract the first breast milk their mothers produce after birth and throw it away, but now, my wives give their babies the first milk, which I hear contains some essential nutrients.”
He explained that he was able to educate his friends, neighbours, and business partners “on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, which changed their perception,” adding that, “Five out of my 13 children who were exclusively breastfed are healthier than the rest, and I’m happy about that, it helped me save money to take care of his family,” Ibraheema stressed.
Also speaking, Aliyu Abubakar said he was impacted after listening to the radio on the importance of breastfeeding, adding that he was conversant with the disposal of colostrum.
Abubakar explained, “I have been listening to the radio a long time ago. That was from where I was able to know about exclusive breastfeeding, even though I am aware of the practice of throwing away the first breast milk of a woman. All my children were exclusively breastfed. I have seen the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding, which is why I have been training my children on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and immunisation for newborn babies.”
He disclosed that he has impacted similar practice to his children, “I have imposed exclusive breastfeeding on my grandchildren so that they can grow as healthy as my own children. I am calling on everyone to pay good attention to women who are pregnant and provide them with good food so that they can produce better milk for their babies,” he advised.
The 2021 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Breastfeeding Statistics revealed that 53.3 per cent of mothers in Adamawa exclusively breastfed their infants for the first six months, 26.4 per cent in Bauchi, 30.7 per cent in Gombe, 38.6 per cent in Plateau, and 33.7 per cent in Taraba.
The District Head of Nyi Bango, Alhaji Abubakar Jika, pledged to take the message of exclusive breastfeeding to his people, adding, “I will let my people know that this is essential.”
Similarly, the Chief Imam, Mopol Barracks Secretary Muslim Council Adamawa State Basheer Tahir, disclosed that Islam supports breastfeeding, “still, I will let the clerics know the importance of breastfeeding, and they will emphasise it during their preaching across the 21 local government areas of the state.”
David Simon, who represented the Christian Association of Nigeria, Adamawa State, pointed out that the well-being of both mother and child remains imperative to God, saying, “We will help encourage our fathers on the need to support their wives do exclusive breastfeeding.”
