Strengthening Workplace Policies for Exclusive Breastfeeding

Sunday Ehigiator reports that experts at the 2021 Nutrition Policy Dialogue recently organised by the Nigeria Health Watch have harped on the need for a strengthened workplace policy that would enable working mothers to exclusively breastfeed their children for at least six months as prescribed by the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund

According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), breastfeeding is one of the most effective ways to ensure a child’s health and survival. However, nearly two out of three infants in the world are not exclusively breastfed for the recommended six months, a rate that has not improved in atleast two decades.

The Labour Act provides that in any establishment, a pregnant female employee is entitled to six weeks leave before her expected delivery date and another six weeks after delivery making a total of 12 weeks statutory leave.

The law also provides that every employee that is nursing a child is to be allowed 30 minutes twice a day during her working hours for the purpose of nursing her child.

And where a woman is unable to resume work after her maternity leave because of conditions arising from her delivery, her employer cannot terminate her employment.

One burning issue during contract signing that remains a clear indication of discrimination of female employees on issues relating to maternity by some private establishments, especially the banking sector, is the prohibition of women from getting pregnant within a stipulated period of time after resuming their appointment.

Failure to adhere to this rule has at times led to penalties such as automatic termination, demotion or deductions from salaries etc.

Although attempts of the Labour Act to protect female employees from discrimination are laudable, its provisions are, however, limited in scope especially with respect to workers in the private sector whose employment are usually predicated on the contracts they enter into with their employers.

As such, where a female job seeker enters an employment contract with a company which provides that she is not entitled to maternity leave, the courts would uphold such contract because it was freely entered into by the job seeker.

This formed the backdrop of conversations among nutrition experts at the zoom-event themed, ‘Strengthening Workplace Policies for Exclusive Breastfeeding: A Shared Responsibility’, which was held in commemoration of the 2021 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), themed: ‘Protect Breastfeeding: a Shared Responsibility’.

Continuing the discussion, the Managing Director, Nigeria Health Watch, Vivianne Ihekweazu reiterated that breast feeding was one of the best ways to ensure the good health of a child, and mother, hence nursing mothers require adequate moments at the workplace to enable them practice exclusive breastfeeding.

According to her, exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months has many benefits for the mother and child in numerous ways, especially when it is initiated at a very early moment after delivery.

Adding her voice, Programs Director, Nigeria Health Watch, Dara Ajala-Damisa, said early initiation of breastfeeding, within one hour of birth, protects the newborn from acquiring infections and reduces newborn mortality.

“Breastfeeding lowers the risk of stomach problems, ear infections, respiratory infections, childhood asthma, and diarrhea.”

In her remarks, Director, Public Health, Kaduna State Ministry of Health, Dr Hajara Kera, noted that equitable breastfeeding policy by private organisations would enhance better productivity.

On the backdrop of Kaduna State, being the first and only state in the country to extend maternity leave for civil servants from three months to six months, Kera said the state government is aiming to take it further by making it an executive bill that will likewise compel private institutions in the state to also do same.

According to her, the bill which is currently being worked on by the ministry of justice, “will implore the private sector to allow nursing mothers to have six-month paid leave.

“It will also advocate for creation of a crèche within the office space, where nursing mothers can take short time-off from work to go and breastfeed their children even while at work.”

Also speaking, Head, Food and Nutrition Division at Ministry of Finance, Budget and National Planning, Mrs. Chito Nelson said there was an unfounded belief among women that if they take longer maternity leave, it may jeopardise their career.

According to her, “Having longer maternity period does not in any way affect your career as a woman. In fact, it gives you the advantage of exclusively breastfeeding your child which in turn relieves you of stress, depression and makes you more productive at resumption.”

Mrs. Nelson equally dismissed beliefs among employees that giving longer maternity periods to nursing mothers would increase unemployment in the country and productivity.

She said, “There is no correlation between having longer maternity leave and increased unemployment, and also decreased productivity.

“When a nursing mother gets all the support necessary from her employee during lactation, she would have a sound mind that would improve her productivity tremendously. And this would have a ripple effect on the economy as well.

“People need to understand the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding to the economy and country at large.”

In her address, Chief of Section, Nutrition, UNICEF-Nigeria, Nemat Hajeebhoy, spoke on the need for employers to create opportunities that give nursing mothers flexibility at work places.

According to her, “Flexibility gives mothers time. One of the benefits of COVID-19 actually is that we can be flexible, we can work from anywhere. Making it a new normal, we’ve talked about the new normal in the context of COVID-19, but we need to make breastfeeding the new normal in Nigeria too, sadly, only one out of three children is exclusively breastfed. This is unacceptable.

“Breast milk is an essential food for every child for the first six months. We should all work to implement policies that will allow women to breastfeed effectively and always,” she said.

Earlier, a representative of Nigeria Health Watch, Kemisola Agbaoye, while laying context to the importance of a maternal friendly work environment said, the workplace plays a critical role in supporting breastfeeding practices

“According to the International Labour Organisation (ILO), lack of support at the workplace is one of the major reasons why women stop breastfeeding before the recommended time.”

She posited that women tend to stay longer at their jobs if they can breastfeed at work.

At the end of the discussions, all the experts concluded that, given the obvious benefits of breastfeeding, there was a clear need to strengthen workplace policies for exclusive breastfeeding both in public and private organisations, and to ensure that these policies become consistent across all sectors.