Babies thrive best on breast milk

Lucy Mwaura factory hygienist at Nestle Kenya is a beneficiary of the new breastfeeding room taken on 28th July 2015. PHOTO:WILBERFORCE OKWIRI

Mothers are required to continue breastfeeding until a child hits the two year mark. This is according to recommendations by World Health Organisation (WHO).

Health professionals are warning against stopping breastfeeding abruptly – before the two years are marked in a baby’s growth.

“A child who has been breastfed for at least two years has an advantage over one who was stopped,” Dr Supa Tunje, a paeditrician at Adora Children’s clinic in Kitengela, says.

That breast milk is important for a baby is not in question for most mothers. However, career mothers time and again find themselves in a catch twenty two and are forced to choose between continuing breastfeeding and attending to the demands of the job.

“It is nearly impossible to continue breastfeeding when you are a working mother,” offers Catherine Mwende, an engineer. “In my case I am constantly away from home. Sometimes I fly out for days and my daughter has to do without me.”

Dr Tunje says mothers can express and store milk to be used by a baby when they are away, adding that breastfeeding is extremely important for a baby’s healthy growth.

Mwende stopped breastfeeding after nine months, “because as much as I tried I could not express enough when I had long engagements outside the country.”

Scaling up nutrition civil society alliance advocates for breastfeeding for at least the first two years.

According to Manaan Mumma, a nutritionist with World Food Programme, nutrition is critical in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life.”The health of a baby is shaped within these days, which coincide with the first two years of life,” she says.

She further adds: “A child will only reach maximum height and optimum growth if they are fed as recommended by WHO: that they breastfeed exclusively for the first six months of life and then supplement breast milk with food at least until they are two years old.”

Children who are not fed well, curtailed breastfeeding and lack of balanced diet, Manaan says, are at higher risk of contracting illnesses and stunting in growth.

Apart from nourishment, breast milk also provides bonding between a mother and the baby, says Dr Esther Wanjohi, an obstetrician at Nairobi Hospital.

“Those two years that a baby is breastfeeding also serve to enhance bonding, which is also good for the baby,” she says.

Some women have recognised the importance breast milk serves in a baby’s life. One such mother is Martha Kimkung, a career woman and founder of the Career Mothers for Exclusive Breastfeeding, an organisation that is currently lobbying for a law that will allow new mothers to work half-day for three months after their maternity leave.

“It is tragic that there is disconnect between what nutritionists recommend and what actually happens,” she laments.

And can breast milk be substituted with formula milk?

“No,” argues Dr Tunje. “There is nothing that matches breast milk. It is the best form of nutrition a baby can ever have. Breast milk, unless there are medical reasons, should not be substituted for anything else.”

The only time doctors ask that mothers do not breastfeed is if there is an imminent risk of the baby contracting disease, like HIV.

“The reason we insist on 2 years of breastfeeding is because most of the baby’s brain development happens in the first two years,” Dr Tunje says.

Additional info by Munde Okuna