Exclusive Breastfeeding: Win-Win for Mother and Child

Nigeria has recorded 97 per cent compliance in breastfeeding and 25 per cent in exclusive breastfeeding. As the country joined the rest of the world recently to mark this year’s World Breastfeeding Week, Kuni Tyessi writes that the nation can meet the 50 per cent global target by 2025

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“Even the sea monsters draw out the breast, they give suck to their young ones: the daughter of my people is become cruel, like the ostriches in the wilderness.” Lamentations 4:3 (KJV)

“The mother shall give suck to their offspring for two whole years for him who desires to complete the term; and their maintenance and their clothing must be borne by the father according to usage; no soul shall be imposed upon it a duty but to the extent of its capacity; neither shall a mother be made to suffer harm on account of her child, nor a father on account of his child, and a similar duty on the heir, but if both desire weaning by mutual consent and counsel, there is no blame on you ‎as long as you pay what you promised for according to usage and be careful of your duty to Allah and know that Allah sees what you do.” Qur’an 2 Verse 233

The above quotations from the Holy Bible and the Glorious Qur’an, the spiritual books and constitutions of the two foremost religions in Nigeria and by extension, the world, have set a standard for adherents and indeed for all humans concerning the importance of exclusive breastfeeding in the life of a mother and her child.

The entire family structure is involved to play supportive roles and in cases where mothers deliberately fail to comply to what is a divine injunction, despite the fact that even animals naturally know the importance and imbibe it, they were said to be ostriches because the very big bird is known to severe the ties it has with its offspring from infancy and leaves it to cater for itself. If the Almighty didn’t see breast milk as anything to go by, both verses would not have been recorded in the first place.

In Christianity for example‎, researchers have postulated that if the life and times of Jesus Christ in the 33 years he lived on earth were to be documented, no mortal would have been able to single-handedly lift the book because it would have been so voluminous.

In essence, only the important aspects of humanity and its existence have been recorded and by divine inspiration and revelation. With this, breastfeeding can never be over-emphasised as even the Creator of all humanity has deliberately wired the body of a woman towards ensuring that it provides breast milk when the need arises. Little wonder, the Bible records that every human is “fearfully and wonderfully made.”

To further buttress the spiritual lessons and add a voice, the world’s most revered health body, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) have recommended that breastfeeding be initiated within one hour of birth, and that this should continue with no other foods or liquids for the first six months of life. It can then be continued with complementary feeding until at least 24 months of age.

While breastfeeding is said to be the feeding of an infant or young child with breast milk rather than using infant formula or any other milk from a baby bottle and or container, exclusive breastfeeding which is expected to last for the first six months of existence, means that the infant receives only breast milk. No other fluids or solids ‎are given- not even water, with the exception of oral rehydration solution or drops/syrups of vitamins, minerals or medicines.

Exclusive breastfeeding has the potential to save more children’s lives than any other preventive intervention, thereby giving at least six times greater chance of survival in the early months than non- breastfed children.

However, an unbelievable number of myths have been tied to the age-long practice of breastfeeding and many of them have fallen short of scientific proofs. While some are still undergoing research based on the theory that change is imminent, some have come to stay as they have been inbuilt by nature and occur naturally, thereby defiling human knowledge.

Every woman knows and understands the significance of the female breasts and also knows the importance of breast milk in the life of a child, hence Nigeria’s ability to record up to 97 per cent breastfeeding compliance. However, not every woman is enlightened enough to know and understand the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, and also to accept ‎that breast milk has no substitute especially in the first six months of the existence of every child.

Science has continued to debunk the belief that sermonises that exclusive breastfeeding sags the breasts, thereby making it flabby and unattractive, yet, some women have continued to cling to the myth at the expense of their babies and their overall well-being. Due to limited knowledge about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, many women do not know that there exists difference between exclusive and partial breastfeeding.

In a two-day media dialogue on breastfeeding and global breastfeeding collective, which was organised by the United Nations Children’s Fund in collaboration with DFID, UNICEF nutrition specialist, Ms. Ada Ezeogu revealed that based on documented facts, exclusive breastfeeding improves the survival, health and development of all children, saves women’s lives and contributes to human capital development and gives every child the best start in life. These benefits, according to her, are irrespective of location and economical status.

“An exclusively breastfed child is 14 times less likely to die in the first six months than a non-breastfed child. An estimated 13 per cent of child deaths could be averted if 90 per cent of mothers exclusively breastfeed their infants for the first six months of life.

“Exclusive breastfeeding up to six months of age means that the infant receives only breast milk. No other liquids or solids are given- with the exception of drops/syrups or vitamins, minerals or medicines,” she said.

The nutrients a child is exposed to as a result of exclusive breastfeeding include protein, which is usually sufficient in the right quality and quantity and so helps in easy digestion‎, thereby limiting stress on the kidneys; fats and fatty acids which are important for healthy development of brain, eye and blood vessels; the presence of iron is included and it is easily absorbed by the child’s system and also vitamins A,B and C which has the capacity of meeting up with the child’s needs up to when the child is two years old. The nutrients are all in sufficient quantities and as such, the child does not need any form of supplements.

According to Ezeogu, “Due to anti-bodies that help in the fight against infection, exclusive breastfeeding lowers baby’s risk to allergies such as asthma and dermatitis, such as eczema. The child benefits from it and will experience only fewer bouts of diarrhoea and sudden infant death syndrome, thereby helping the family save more in terms of funds as medicines would not be bought and pains as well as psychological trauma will be averted in the case of infant death.

“Exclusive breastfeeding also has the capacity to positively affect dentition and jawbone as well as speech development and little chances of tooth decay. It protects from chronic‎ diseases such as obesity and diabetes mellitus, urinary tract infections, unset-diet-related problems and also to fight adolescent delinquency and depression in latter years. For the mother, it prevents ovarian and breast cancer and diabetes among other benefits.”

To achieve a 50 per cent compliance globally, world leaders have also spoken to the advantage of exclusive breastfeeding. One of them is Jim Yong Kim, President of the World Bank, who in 2016 said ‘One of the biggest obstacles to a better world is our collective failure to help parents provide adequate nutrition to children during the first 1,000 days’.

Another quote is from Keith Hansen of the World Bank and The Lancet in 2016. He said “If breastfeeding did not already exist, someone who invented it today would deserve a dual Nobel prize in medicine and economics’.

Therefore, exclusive breastfeeding is not only an investment in improving children’s health and saving lives, but also in investment in human capital development that can benefit a country’s economy. So far, investment in global health ‎has revealed that every one dollar if invested in breastfeeding, has the ability to generate 35 dollars in economic returns and as it positively affects the economy, the family also benefits.