The wife of the Oyo State Governor, Mrs Tamunomini Makinde, has urged the owners of private organisations to emulate the state government by also giving nursing mothers on their payroll six months of maternity leave with pay.
Mrs Makinde made this call at an event to commemorate the 2024 World Breastfeeding Week, held at the office of the wife of the Oyo State Governor, Agodi, Ibadan, on Tuesday, where over 850 nursing mothers received various gifts for their infants.
Makinde hinged this call on the fact that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months would enable infants to have a good start to life.
She noted the need for private and government establishments to jointly assume the responsibility of closing gaps in ensuring children benefit from the nutrition associated with regular breastfeeding in their first six months of life.
While noting that the present Governor Seyi Makinde administration had taken the lead in granting nursing mothers maternity leave with pay, she enjoined private establishments to emulate the same, thereby contributing to reducing child mortality and under-five deaths.
She described breast milk as a natural vaccine that strengthens the immune system, and she noted that constant breastfeeding helps engender a unique bond between mother and child.
Makinde, who also noted that nursing mothers faced challenges feeding in public spaces, advocated that public spaces be made friendly for breastfeeding women.
Speaking further, she admonished healthcare workers to continue to live up to their roles as frontline workers and ensure that nursing mothers embrace exclusive breastfeeding and have a good start to life.
Makinde gifted the nursing mothers items, including wipes, nappies, rice, and cash gifts.
Speaking, Executive Secretary, Oyo State Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Muideen Olatunji, identified the first 1000 days as crucial in the lives of children.
He stressed that exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months was crucial, before the introduction of supplements, water, and other foods.
Earlier, a director at the Primary Healthcare Board, Dr. Alarape, spoke about positioning and attachment while breastfeeding, particularly tasking mothers to ensure their children suck the areola area of the breast, not the nipple.
As against mothers moving their infants from one breast to the other in a short while, Alarape said children will be satisfied if allowed to dwell on one breast for a long while before moving to the other.
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