As the world celebrates breastfeeding week, public and private institutions have been urged to set up breastfeeding centres to enable children to access breast milk on demand.
Maxmillan Barasa, a nutritionist working at the Iten County Referral hospital regretted that most children are not breastfed on demand as required, as mothers leave for work, only to breastfeed when they return, as breastfeeding services are not factored into most workplaces.
“The children remain at home because they are not catered for at the workplace. Breastfeeding centres would help ensure the babies are breastfed on demand as required, for a healthy foundation,” says Barasa.
The nutritionist said such centres should be constructed in all places where women engage in income-generating activities, including marketplaces.
She said the benefits of breastfeeding cannot be gainsaid for both the mother and the child and therefore it is important to ensure that infants are breastfed on demand.
“Breastfeeding ensures that children grow healthy while it helps women plan their families and also fights against breast cancer,” she said.
She therefore advised young mothers to ensure that they exclusively breastfeed their children, saying doing so ensures that they will not spend money to buy drugs nor spend most of their time in hospital after their children fall ill.
She, however, said due to continued sensitisation by medical personnel, most mothers were embracing breastfeeding after realising its benefits.
By Alice Wanjiru
