This archive report was first published on 5 August 2019.
On World Breastfeeding Week, the theme 'Empower Parents, Enabling Breastfeeding' highlights the importance of empowering parents to achieve exclusive breastfeeding from conception. However, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Africa, including Kenya, falls short of the recommended standard.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), babies should be breastfed exclusively for the first six months and continue breastfeeding with complementary feeds until they are two years old and beyond. However, major obstacles hinder exclusive breastfeeding, including medical challenges, short maternity leave, lack of institutional policies to support breastfeeding staff, lack of food, lack of knowledge, and lack of physical and emotional support.
Medical challenges, such as HIV/AIDS and cancer treatment, pose significant barriers to exclusive breastfeeding. Mothers living with HIV should breastfeed for at least 12 months and continue breastfeeding for up to 24 months or longer while receiving antiretroviral therapy. In settings where health services provide lifelong antiretroviral therapy and support breastfeeding, the duration of breastfeeding should not be restricted.
Breastfeeding is safe for cancer mothers unless they are undergoing chemotherapy or hormonal therapy. In such cases, formula milk is recommended as an alternative to breastfeeding to avoid transmitting harmful medication to the child.
Interventions to promote exclusive breastfeeding should be delivered in a combination of settings, involving health systems, home, family, and the community environment concurrently. Hospital antenatal clinics should initiate and provide parents with necessary knowledge throughout the pregnancy period, delivery, and post-natal to support each other physically and emotionally.
Good nutrition during pregnancy and breastfeeding is essential to meet the extra demands on the mother's body. Mothers should eat a balanced diet rich in folic acid, vitamin D, iron, and calcium, including liver, kidneys, green vegetables, fruits, and fluids. They should avoid alcohol, smoking, caffeine, and self-medication, which can harm the baby.
Short maternity leave and lack of workplace support also hinder exclusive breastfeeding. Organizations should consider introducing day-care centers at the workplace for breastfeeding mothers and providing breastfeeding rooms and storage facilities.
Empowering parents right from conception to delivery and breastfeeding is crucial to curb infant malnutrition, reduce obesity, reduce vulnerability to allergies and diseases, and achieve optimal growth and higher baby IQ.
