Post: Support breastfeeding wives, husbands urged

Husbands have been urged to support their breastfeeding wives to ensure the overall welfare and health of their children.Kajiado County Nutritionist Ruth Nasinkoi noted that a mother is able to produce more breastmilk when supported physically and emotionally at home.Speaking at Isinya Health Centre during an event to mark the World Breastfeeding Week that runs from August 1-7, 2024, Nasinkoi revealed that milk production is affected when a mother is under stress, thus husbands must ensure they provide a conducive environment at home for the mothers to be able to produce milk and breastfeed their children.'Stress affects milk production; thus, a lactating mother should be supported both physically and emotionally by the husband and family to ensure that she is in the right frame of mind to produce milk,' she said.Nasinkoi further urged the husbands to massage their wives' backs when breastfeeding, adding that this helps increase the flow of the milk. She outlined the importance of exclusive breastfeed ing for the first six months of a child's life, adding that breast milk saves children's lives as it provides antibodies that protect them against many childhood illnesses.The nutritionist added that breastfeeding also helps in the brain development of a child, while for mothers, it lowers the risk of breast cancer, ovarian cancer, mastitis, and engorgement of the breasts.'Children who are exclusively breastfed for the first six months get sick less often and have higher brain development and physical growth,' Nasinkoi said.She further called on breastfeeding mothers to eat a proper diet, as poor nutrition leads to lack of breast milk, which subsequently affects the baby's health.Nasinkoi also urged working mothers to ensure they breastfeed exclusively for six months by expressing breast milk for their babies to take while they are at work.She called on employers to provide a conducive environment for lactating mothers to express milk.Kajiado County Executive Committee Member for Health Alex Kilow ua reiterated the importance of breastmilk in a child's life, adding that the first thousand days of a baby's life are crucial.Kilowua called on men to support their women from the time they start attending antenatal clinics by accompanying them to the clinics so as to learn how to take care of their children's health.Chesang Machezo, a resident of Isinya and a mother to a two-year-old boy, says she was able to breastfeed her child exclusively for six months due to the support she got from her husband.Machezo noted that her husband assisted her with housework and ensured she always ate a balanced diet and rested well; thus, she was able to produce enough breast milk.The World Breastfeeding Week aims to highlight the huge benefits that breastfeeding can bring to both the health and welfare of babies, as well as a wider push for maternal health, focusing on good nutrition, poverty reduction, and food security.This year's theme, 'Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All,' emphasises ways families , society, and health workers can support breastfeeding mothers.Source : Kenya News Agency