Women urged to embrace exclusive breastfeeding for healthy children

By Peter Ochieng

Women with infants aged below 6 months, those pregnant and the ones planning for pregnancy have been urged to embrace exclusive breastfeeding, with a view of raising healthy children.

According to Lucia Mutwika, Senior Nutritionist Officer based at the Kisumu County Referral Hospital (KCRH), breastfeeding exclusively for 6 months without food or drink is key, since breast milk has all the nutrients a child needs for growth, from the day of birth to 6 months.

“Exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months helps the baby to grow up with a very strong immunity, making him or her able to fight infections,” said Mutwika.

“Again, this is a baby who is very young. Their digestive system is not yet mature to digest other food items. That is why we encourage the mother to only give the baby breast milk,” she added.

The nutritionist spoke on the sidelines of a breastfeeding forum held at the KMET organisation in Kisumu’s Tom Mboya Estate, as part of events marking this year’s breastfeeding week. Tens of breastfeeding mothers turned up for the event.

World Breastfeeding Week is held in the first week of August every year, to celebrate breastfeeding mums in all their diversity. The theme for 2024 is Closing the gap: Breastfeeding support for all.

Oscar Okoth, KMET Project Officer said they organised the forum so as to share information with mothers on the importance of breastfeeding, and how to prepare nutritional food for children beyond the exclusive breastfeeding bracket.

“They were also shown through demonstrations on how to prepare different types of food that are required for the children,” said Okoth.

Other services rendered include family planning, cervical cancer screening, ultrasound and screening of the under five children to ascertain the status of their growth.

Shamim Otieno from Obunga estate, one of the women who attended the event said she learned how to properly hold her baby for effective breastfeeding. She urged women to breastfeed their babies for 6 straight months before offering them food or drink, adding that from experience, the exercise is worth taking.

Breast milk, research shows, provides the ideal nutrition for infants. It has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat, and it's all provided in a form that's more easily digested.

Babies who are breastfed exclusively for the first 6 months have been reported to have fewer ear infections, respiratory illnesses, and bouts of diarrhoea. They also have fewer hospitalizations and trips to the doctor.