16th August, 2017
Prof. Assumpta Chapp-Jumbo, a don, has urged women’s groups, market associations and churches to take advantage of the August meetings to enlighten nursing mothers on the benefits of exclusive breast feeding.
Chapp-Jumbo, the Chairman, Medical Advisory Committee (CMAC), Abia State University Teaching Hospital (ABSUTH), made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Aba, Abia.
She suggested that most of the teaching on exclusive breast feeding should be anchored from outside the hospital, to increase the impact of the campaigns.
“Because this is a social cum medical issue, it is best anchored from outside the hospital. It is something that will impact on the society in the long run.
“So, we encourage women’s groups, market associations, churches to engage nursing mothers in health education and enlightenment, especially now that women are going to August meetings.
She attributed the low response to the campaign in Abia to some negative influences, saying that proper education of mothers would address such negative influences and boost the impact of breast feeding campaigns.
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“Some friends, family members, even their own mothers sometimes do not give them the encouragement that we would have wanted them to give because of some ingrained practices of the past.
“When you tell them to adopt exclusive breast feeding which means giving breast milk only, no water, no other additional thing; they will ask how can a baby not take water?
“But they forget that the breast milk already has water in it. We know that those who have practiced it have come out with very healthy babies that are not sick all the time.
“They do not have to be running from pillar to post, coming to the hospital often because their baby is sick and even the mother is more confident.
“Over the years, it has been proven that those who breast feed their babies exclusively have healthier babies.”
Chapp-Jumbo noted that an Igbo adage which describes a wise and intelligent person as someone who was breast fed very well, attests to the fact that exclusive breast feeding benefits a child and its family.
She said that ABSUTH would do its best to propagate the exclusive breast feeding policy by creating the needed awareness among women.