County First Lady underscores need for six months exclusive breastfeeding
Trans Nzoia County First Lady Her Excellency Lillian Natembeya has expressed the importance of mothers to breastfeed their children for six months without introducing any other meals.
Speaking during the World Breastfeeding Week marked at the Tom Mboya Health Centre in Kitale town Monday, the First Lady urged lactating mothers to adhere to the Ministry of Health guidelines.
Mrs. Natembeya reminded lactating mothers that breast milk has ideal nutritional content essential for proper growth of the brain and development of bones for the infants.
World Breastfeeding week is celebrated every 1st – 7th of August annually to inform, anchor, engage and galvanise all the breastfeeding related issues.
This year’s theme is ‘Enabling Breastfeeding making differences for working parents’, Acknowledging the presence of the scores of breastfeeding mothers who attended the launch, the County First Lady noted that the mammoth attendance was a show of the commitments to ensure their infants are healthy.
She noted that Article 71 of the Health Act 2017 states that every working station should have an ideal place for employees to breastfeed their young ones.
“Our Governor is building markets as well as the county headquarters and I have already talked to him to ensure that we have breastfeeding rooms for the lactating mothers” said Mrs. Natembeya.
She added that article 72 of the Health Act stipulates that there should be provisions of break intervals for nursing mothers adding that it is against this backdrop that lactating mothers have to be given their space.
“We celebrate our mothers especially those who choose to breastfeed exclusively. I also call upon Dads on Paternity Leaves to embrace your wives when they are at home breastfeeding to allow milk flow. When the mother is stressed the milk won’t be enough for the child” Mrs Natembeya said.
The First Lady observed that breastfeed the infants is tantamount to investing in the future of the county and the country at large.
She also urged the women to always go for cervical cancer screening saying this will enable early detection of the cancer if any and ease the management.
The County Nutrition Coordinator Lydia Kimani emphasized the theme of the year saying that the Ministry of Health and the World health Organization (WHO) recommends that immediately the mother delivers before the end of one hour there is need to put the child on the breast to support milk formation.
She said even when the infant is introduced to other meals at six months; breastfeeding should continue upto 2 years before the child can be fully introduced to other meals.
Mrs Kimani added that there are a lot of benefits in breasting a child which includes high body immunity; the child will have proper growth and there will be no stunted growth it also boost the health of the mother.
Anne Kipsuto of USAID Ampath Uzima said the organisation through the FP RAMCA nutrition and wash is collaborating with department of Health to ensure that women in the childbearing bracket access health services from the hospitals.
She said the organisation is emphasizing on the 1,000 days expectancy and after giving birth to a healthy child should be able to plan well his family through family planning.
Ms Kipsuto urged the employers to ensure support of the pregnant women and breastfeeding women at the work place get the privacy and support to breastfeed their children.
The USAID Ampath Uzima coordinator said pointed out that the breastfeeding journey involves all the stakeholders including other government departments and institutions.
Simon Kinan
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