Improving breastfeeding practices can save 100 000 lives in Nigeria yearly

Dr Igbedioh, who spoke at a media training workshop for social and behavioural change with a focus on Infant and Young Children Feeding (IYCF) in Lagos, stated that ensuring optimal breastfeeding practices will prevent over 10million cases of childhood diarrhoea and pneumonia in the country.

Igbedioh, who noted that exclusive breastfeeding has the potential to save more children’s lives than any other preventive interventions, stated that breastfed children have at least six times greater chance of survival in the early months than non-breastfed children.

He declared; “if 90 per cent of mothers exclusively breastfed their infants for the first six months of life, an estimated 13 per cent of child deaths could be averted.

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“Nearly half of all diarrhoea episodes and one-third of all diarrhoea episodes and one-third of all respiratory infections would be prevented with increased breastfeeding.”

Igbedioh, saying that even mothers that are not well fed can still produce enough breast milk to exclusively breastfeed, added that investing in breastfeeding saves lives and provide a high return on investment.

“Low breastfeeding rates are associated with poor brain development at the individual level, which reduces learning ability, productivity and lifetime earnings.

“It will save N6.93 billion in health care system treatment costs related to inadequate breastfeeding. It will generate an additional N6.62 trillion for the economy or 4.1 per cent of its GNI, over children’s productive years by increasing cognitive capacity and preventing premature mortality in the early years.

“Optimal breastfeeding practices have the potential to eliminate most of the N11 billion household cost of breast milk substitutes and reduce families‘ out of pocket expenditures to treat diarrhoea and pneumonia.”

President, National Association of Women Journalists, Mrs Ifeyinka Omowole who said breast milk was a good start off for children, urged the media to talk more about why babies should be exclusively breastfed.

“The radio, for example, is everywhere and everyone is listening to the news, so we should start to tell mothers on the way breastfeeding should be done and start complementary feeding only after six months of birth.

“So what we do to change the narrative of what is happening today will determine our future when we are old. If you have a sicken generation, one’s whose brain is not fully developed, you may not have a pension to live on.”

Earlier, Alive and Thrives’ Policy and Advisory Adviser, Toyin Adewale-Gabriel said Nigeria was the second lowest in the number of women exclusively breastfeeding their infants, adding that the ultimate way to ensure that Nigerian children have a good start in life.