Why male backing is crucial for exclusive breastfeeding

Over the years, there have been increasing campaigns for exclusive breastfeeding practice for newborns  worldwide, and it has equally resonated in Africa.

Numerous health and medical reasons have been presented for the need for exclusive breastfeeding among families, and those reasons have also gained renaissance over the years.

It is said and proven that infants who are exclusively breastfed tend to be stronger and  healthier.

Many  experts posited that breast milk not only provides the ideal nutrition for infants, but that “It has a nearly perfect mix of vitamins, protein, and fat — everything your baby needs to grow. And it’s all provided in a form that’s more easily digested than infant formula.”

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UNICEF Nutrition Specialist Bauchi field office, Mrs Philomena Irene, said  the  2021 breastfeeding statistics reveals that the exclusive breastfeeding rate for Adamawa is 53.3, Bauchi 26.4, Gombe 30.7, Plateau 38.6 and Taraba 33.7.

Speaking at the 2024 Media Dialogue  for Journalists as Change Agents , she stressed  the need to engage men in order to make the difference in actualizing exclusive breastfeeding among families. The dialogue which was held in Adamawa State last month August had in attendance journalists from Bauchi, Gombe, Plateau, Taraba and Adamawa itself.

The nutrition specialist noted that to close the gap in breastfeeding inequalities all actors along the warm chain of breastfeeding support, civil society organizations, governments, policymakers, health systems, workplaces, communities, and parents must be engaged.

She called on all stakeholders to invest in breastfeeding support to alleviate social inequalities and promote sustainable development in the respective states.

Speaking on the theme ‘Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All,’ she said that  breastfeeding gives all children the healthiest start in life, offers life-saving benefits to children and women, adding that breast milk provides all the fluid and nutrients needed for optimal growth and development during the first six months.

Irene further explained that breast milk acts as a baby’s first vaccine and affects health outcomes and  stimulates brain development and affects educational outcomes. She added that  breastfeeding protects a woman’s health, leads to lower health care costs, healthier families, smarter workforce and  better economic productivity, pointing out that when mothers breastfeed, everyone benefits.

Regarding the role of men/fathers’ actualizing exclusive breastfeeding, she said, “Men should aid their wives with childcare and household chores so the baby’s mother can take time to breastfeed babies. They should talk with family members, including grandmothers, about committing to breast milk only for the baby’s first six months – no water or other liquids or foods Men should also talk with family members about the need to feed the baby milk, eggs, and green or orange fruits or vegetables every day.

“Also, men should ensure that animal source foods are always available for the baby by keeping for the family milk and eggs that might otherwise be sold or by purchasing milk and eggs as needed, beginning at six months. And they should check in with their wives about how the plan for feeding the baby is going, at least once a week.”

In view of the benefits of breastfeeding and its vigorous campaigns for its exclusive practice for infants, the men who are the head of the family are increasingly embracing the practice, and are even championing the cause.

Interestingly, persons (men) living with disabilities, in their quest to have healthier children, than they are, have strongly been showing their support for the practice, and have decidedly embraced it.

Several of the men who bore their minds on this to Daily Trust said their wives (some not living with disability) have also shown their acceptance of imbibing any possible or available practice that will ensure they produce healthier children than themselves.

Amanyi Obeya who is virtually impaired and works in health tertiary Institution said when he gave birth to his first and second child, his wife did exclusive breastfeeding for them for six months with the help and guidance of the nurses and medical/hospital personnel.

He said a nurse at the University of Jos health clinic had to sternly stop his wife from giving the first child water, saying that the breast milk also contains water, and that at the initial stage of the breastfeeding, the nurse had to teach his wife how to seat properly and correctly hold her nipple when breastfeeding the child so that it will enter the child’s mouth very well and the breast milk will flow accordingly.

Obeya, whose wife is not living with disability, said he is seeing the result of the exclusive breastfeeding in his daughter because she is healthy, very brilliant and that since she was given birth to she hardly fall sick.

According to Obeya, though he lost his second male child, but his first daughter which he gave birth to in Farin Gada area of Jos North of Plateau State in 2001 is a living testament of the benefit of exclusive breastfeeding because of her soundness.

He called on men living with disabilities not to only encourage their wives and support them to practice exclusive breastfeeding for their kids, but to also become ambassadors/advocates for exclusive breastfeeding  and portray its benefits to the society in the light that it has the potential to immune children against unnecessary diseases that would lead to disability.

Furthermore, he explained that language problems in children can be associated with learning disability, autism  cognition and fine-motor problem.

On his part, John Ibu, who is also living with disability (on wheelchair) said he did  exclusive breastfeeding for his first child who was born on the 16th of February this year.

Ibu who resides in ECWA Staff area of Jos said he is a single father, and that the mother of his child is also physically challenged (wheelchair).

According to him, the child’s mother passed through a lot of challenge during the six months period of exclusive breastfeeding, due to the fact that she is not only physically challenged herself, but needed to feed well and get all the needed nutrient and healthy living and other vital attention and support that can nourish her body, and then for onward transfer to the child.

He said by not living together with the child’s mother, such practice as exclusive breastfeeding could was not easy as it requires his presence, moral support and input.

Nonetheless, Ibu said, they were able to go through  all that and the mother is now better, adding that he has now known much about exclusive breastfeeding since the birth of his child.

He urged  all and sundry, particularly persons living with disabilities to endeavour to give their wives all the needed support during the period of exclusive breastfeeding, as she would require all the support she can get, adding that even though his child’s mother just finished the exclusive breastfeeding barely a month ago, he is already seeing the impact in the child.

Another person  living with disability, Joseph Wetle, said he is in full support of exclusive breastfeeding, because research and statistics have shown that most children will fall sick and develop natural disability always happen at childbirth and infancy stage.

Wetle who recently graduated from University of Jos and living around village hostel said statistics has also revealed that the breast milk contains nutrients that can boost the health and the immunity/abilities of children and prevent from falling sick unnecessarily.

The Executive Chairman of Plateau State Disability Rights Commission, Lengnen Jurman, said he has two children and he did exclusive breastfeeding for the both of them and that the second born is now 17 years old and the first born is 19 years old now.

Jurman is also a lecturer at the Department of Special Education and Rehabilitation Sciences, University of Jos (UniJos), and has authored some books on disability.

He said his children don’t get sick regularly sick. “They are stable and we have not had issues with that aspect. Sometimes, when we compare ourselves to other families we wonder what is happening, as we are not constantly taking our children to the hospital. The few times they feel ill, we give them Panadol or these regular tablets and they would be well.

“I want to also believe that exclusive breastfeeding also limits becoming physically impaired in life, as it is when a child is not properly breastfed that he/she would be exposed to different diseases attack that could cause impairment in the child in one way or the other.”