By Akanji Alowoludo, Bauchi
Breastfeeding women in Bauchi State have blamed their non-compliance to the practice of exclusive breastfeeding for their babies as required on family elders’ influence that put pressure on them not to do it.
This is as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) intensified campaign for mothers to embrace exclusive breastfeeding as well as making effort to secure six months maternity leave for the working mothers.
While there are indications that many are adhering to the practice, some are lagging behind, owing to some cultural beliefs and influence from family elders.
During a recent facilities visit by a group of Journalists to celebrate the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), a Nursing mother in Bulkachuwa town, Katagum local government area Mrs. Hassana Usman said that, in all her deliveries, she has never practiced exclusive breastfeeding for six months.
According to her, “I have Eight children and all of them survived with breast milk and boiled water which I fed them with from three to four days after birth.”
Hassana Usman told a team of Journalists who were on a field visitation at Bulkachuwa Primary Health Center after concluding a recent Media Dialogue to mark the 2023 World Breastfeeding Week organized by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Azare town, Katagum local government area of Bauchi state.
Looking so confident in what she was saying, Hassana Usman said that she has been made to believe that there is no wrong in complementing breast milk with water for a child below six months as being advocated by health experts.
She however admitted that it is good to adhere to calls for exclusive breastfeeding of babies for six months and other advises from health experts, said pressure from family elders has necessitated her action.
“We have elders in our households and we believe they know better than us, so we have no option than to yield to their influence. I use to give boiled water to my babies as complement to the breast milk and weaned them after 18 months”, she said.
According to her, there are many women in her Community who share similar opinion and experience with her despite hearing from the authorities about the health benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to both the child and the mother.
“I do come for antenatal care and immunization at this hospital and they use to tell us about exclusive breastfeeding and other health tips, but I don’t think it is mandatory to adhere to it”, Hassana Usman who was at the Bulkachuwa Primary Health Care center on routine immunization said.
“Any time I try to embrace the practice, they say I am punishing the baby by not feeding them enough. They will say breast milk along is not enough for the baby and that I should complement it with water”, Hassana Usman revealed.
However, for Maryam Abdulkadir, a resident of Bulkachuwa Community, exclusive breastfeeding has impacted positively in the lives of her babies.
“I have two children and all of them benefitted from exclusive breastfeeding. Their performance in education is very pleasing”, she said.
Maryam Abubakar who is married to a health personnel said having realized the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, she was able to practice on her two children she has been calling on her neighbors to also do same.
“I have been advising them to practice exclusive breastfeeding because it gives protection to children against child killer diseases”, she said.
Mrs Abdulkadir who said her first child is in primary three, acknowledged that her performance in the school is exceptional.
“My two children don’t easily fall sick anyhow and they look much healthier all the time, even if they do, the sickness is always mild, and as such, we the parents don’t spend money in treating ailments”, she said.
She therefore, urged other women who are not practicing exclusive breastfeeding to embrace the practice for the good health of their children.
Mrs Abdulkadir who said lack secluded area for nursing mothers in work places to breastfeed their babies is a problem the need to be addressed, observed that many women who are shy finds it difficult to breastfeed their babies as at when due.
She however, called on the government to reduce working hours for women as well as provide crèches for nursing mothers to enable them fully practice exclusive breastfeeding.
Speaking, the official in charge of the Bulkachuwa Primary Health Center, Musa Samaila Madachi, said that they have sensitizing the women on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding any time they come for antenatal care.
Madachi who said compliance to exclusive breastfeeding has improved among women in Bulkachuwa, however said, there some that still sees it as a new thing brought to them.
According to him, as a result of cultural beliefs, once a baby cry, they feel he is thirsty and will rush to give him water instead of feeding the child with breast milk.
He enjoined nursing mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding for six months to save their babies from child killer diseases, adding that breast milk contains the required quantity needed for the babies.
On his part, the Director Katagum local government Health Authority, Alhaji Jibrin Mohammed Inuwa said any time health officers from the local government goes to service delivery point, they advocated for exclusive breastfeeding of babies up to six months after birth.
“We try to ensure that our personnel sensitize women on the need to embrace exclusive breastfeeding any time they come for antenatal care or immunization and those who delivered at the hospital”, he said.
According to him, there is another group called ‘Mama to Mama, who are being sponsored by UNICEF and have received training to carry out awareness creation across households in Katagum local government area.
“We have Mama to Mama across various wards of Katagum, we have 20 in each of the Wards, which makes their number to 400, these women goes round nooks and crannies of the local government to sensitize members of the public. UNICEF has also assisted us with Voluntary Community Mobilizers (VCFs), they go round households to sensitize parents. We also have Breakthrough Action Nigeria that have what we called 17 priority areas of effecting behavioral change in people in which exclusive breastfeeding is one of the key priority areas of their assignment.
He said to ensure success of the campaign, Nutrition Committee have been set up at the state level while that of the local government areas have been inaugurated as well as at the ward level.
He said that the local government health authority will use baseline assessment to ascertain the level of compliance by nursing mothers before taking any other step to improve upon if need be.
