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By Akpan David, Calabar
State governments and the private sector players have been called upon to grant more months for paternity leave for husbands who are their employees, even as female employees enjoy maternity leave.
The call was made by Dr. Ijeoma Onuoha Ogwe, communications officer and Mrs Ngozi Onuora, nutrition specialist, both work for UNICEF Field Office in Enugu State.
Other stakeholders and media practitioners also made similar calls at a zonal media dialogue on 2023 World Breastfeeding Week and Zero Water campaign held for Cross River, Benue and Enugu states.
Onuora spoke on the theme for 2023 World Breastfeeding Week “Enabling breastfeeding: making a difference for working parents”.
She disclosed that presently Enugu State has complied by approving two weeks paternity leave for their male employees to enable them stay with and support their wives who give birth.
They argued strongly that there is more serious need for the husbands to stay closer to their nursing wives, especially if the couple does not have any close relatives to render help as soon as the wife put to bed.
The workshop also insist that to enable the nursing mothers concentrate on giving new born babies excluding breastfeeding there was need for maternity leave for nursing mothers to be extended from six months.
They advised that breastfeeding should extend to even two years, saying it is very advisable.
“It would be good that other state governments should emulate Enugu which has since allowed its male personnel to proceed on two weeks paternity leave.
“But we are appealing that these two weeks be extended to, say, two or three months with pay. This will enable the husbands help their wives so that these nursing mothers do not over stress themselves but give attention to breastfeeding their new born babies”, Onuora said.
The nutrition experts enumerated arrays of benefits derivable from exclusive breastfeeding, maintaining that the baby can hardly be attacked by ailments and the baby will be very intelligent.
“Early breastfeeding does prevents over 37% of child deaths, and protects against ailments. Breast milk acts as first immunization for new born babies, and helps, too, to cleanse both mother and child’s systems,” he said.
