By Chinenye Anuforo
In line with its effort at promoting maternal and child wellness, Wellbeing Foundation Africa has organised a training programme for nursing mothers across Lagos State to enlighten them on the importance of exclusive breast-feeding and the need to sustain breastfeeding for up to two years of a baby’s life.
Wellbeing Foundation Africa founded by the wife the Senate President, Mrs. Oluwatoyin Saraki,
organised the two day workshop under the auspices of Mamacare Midwives, an antenatal and post-natal education vehicle of the foundation.
The programme was organised as part of activities to mark the 2017 World Breastfeeding Week.
The workshop, which had over 200 nursing mothers in attendant and also included a demonstration of the right breastfeeding techniques, was held at Island Maternity, Lagos Island and 9 Brigade Medical Centre, Ikeja Military Cantonment, Lagos.
In her address at the programme, Mrs. Eunice Akhigbe, Midwifery Programme Officer for Wellbeing Foundation Africa, Lagos Office, said that babies must be exclusively breastfed for six months without water or pacifier.
“We found out that most of the times, mothers find it difficult to do exclusive breastfeeding, so, we want to ensure that breastfeeding rules are followed and these babies coming into the world are well breastfed,” she said.
Highlighting some of the benefits to the baby, she said that breast milk has all the vital nutrients in the adequate and right proportion and confers immunity to the baby via the mother.
According to her, breastfeeding also promotes bonding between the mother and her child adding that it helps to fight against some health challenges like constipation, heart problem among other disease faced by children at that tender age.
On the benefits to the mothers, she explained that exclusive breast feeding helps the womb to move to its original position after delivery and also helps mothers to fight against breast cancer.
