BY KHALID IDRIS DOYA, Bauchi
Exclusive Breastfeeding in the first six months of birth is said to be promoting the physical and mental health of a child, as the concept is being embraced by Aliyu Abubakar, a resident of Yola in Adamawa state.
Malam Aliyu Abubakar, 67 years of age, said that he knew about the significance of exclusive breastfeeding through the Radio Kaduna health programme even before he got marriage.
"So, when I got married, right from my first child, I introduced the exclusive breastfeeding to my wife which she wholeheartedly embraced, and today as I have been talking to you now, I was blessed with eleven children and all of them were fed through exclusive breastfeeding in their first six months of birth".
According to him, he got those eleven children through three wives whom, he said, was comfortably living with them, saying "I Am a trader with a shop here in Yola where I sell provisions to the public.
Abubakar told our correspondent that during the period he was practicing exclusive breastfeeding, he had of course enlightened a number of households, mostly his neighborhood, who hitherto used to press out the first breast feeds on ground before allowing the newborn sacking the breast.
He explained that even animals were hitherto on giving birth their owners used to press out the first breastfeeds pouring it onto the ground, only to allow the newborn to squeeze in the subsequent feeds, but that has already become history as parents are nowadays being kept abreast about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding.
Malam Kabir is another resident of Jimeta, also in Adamawa state who said he has two wives and children, but was educated through the wives who used to go to health facility after conceptualization where they were being educated on issues pertaining childbirth and other related issues.
Kabir explained that only the first two of his seven children were not exclusively breastfed, a situation which he said, physically marked a difference between their bodies, with the later five physically looking stronger than the first two children.
Another resident of Jimeta, Yola in Adamawa state, Alh. Ibrahim Burema said that he has immensely benefited from exclusive breastfeeding being practiced by his wives who were often being educated at a health facility, Yola.
Speaking in the same vein, a traditional ruler in Yola, the District Head of Nyibango, Alhaji Abubakar Jika said that religious leaders were taught on the significance of child breastfeeding in the first six months of his/her life.
"The exclusive breastfeeding would promote the physical and mental health of the child, and expand their mental capacity for the rapidly changing World, while His/her mother would have her body growing healthier by the day".
Also chipping in, Pastor David Simon was a state director of education, women and youth with the Christians Association of Nigeria (CAN) and a participant in the ongoing media engagement said that the idea for them to participate in the event is to dedicate themselves about breastfeeding.
David said, "Like I said inside the hall, it is even scripture, if you look at the scripture it permits us to, and you talk about the grandmother, it has been a tradition also that the mother should breastfeed the child".
"So, what we religious leaders have been doing now is to preach more to the fathers to encourage their wives to take up breastfeeding of the child, so that we could have a good child growing up".
Pastor David added, "They and their followers, there is always one thing that is key, that is the trust, they have this trust on their religious leaders, so therefore having that trust on us, we would not be able to give them wrong information, so by telling them only, it is already a message for them to carry and implement".
The Chief Imam Mopol Barracks, Assistant Secretary General of the Muslims Council of Adamawa State, Bashir Tahir Imam Yola said that the position of Islam as far as breastfeeding is concerned, is mentioned in two verses of the Holy Qur'an, the verse is in Suratul Lukman and the other one is in the Suratul Haqab.
"That Allah Subhanahu Wata'ala is saying that for those who want to complete breastfeeding, they should breastfeed their children up to complete two years, and the second verse talks about born the child and breastfeeding him, and the verse says it is 30 months".
"Now, when you talk about 30 months, Sayyidina Ali, the first caliph of the Prophet (SAW), if you subtract six from six from thirty, it will give you 24 which is the time for breastfeeding. So, breastfeeding in Islam, as far as these two verses of the Holy Qur'an are concerned, is complete two years".
So, this is what is expected of every Muslim to breastfeed his child. Chapter four verse 59, Suratul Nisa, is saying "all you who believe, obey Allah and obey his messengers obey those in authority, and those in authority."
"Now, those in authority encapsulate every professional in. His own field, now if medical personnel is telling you to breastfeed feed your child for the betterment, if you want to achieve the best health status of a child, you breastfeed him for this period of time, then you have to accept as a Muslim because he is in authority in that aspect or field , so you have to obey him as commended by Allah".
He added that "There 1,026 mosques in Adamawa state and if as a council we have an important message such as the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to convey to the Imams, we send the message to the secretaries who will disseminate it to the Imams. The Imams will now convey the message to the people at the respective mosques in the state."
Also a resident of Hardawa community in Misau local government area of Bauchi state, Ibrahim Haruna said since he came across information about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, he has sustained advocacy for it, not only within his family but even the neighborhood.
Haruna who is a farmer and father of seven children said, "I have been supporting my wife in every aspect of life, most especially the need for her to breastfeed our children exclusively with breast milk for six months."
"Before I got enlightened by the authorities, I had four children who couldn't have the opportunity to be fed exclusively with breast milk for six months, as a result, they often fell sick and I spent a lot of money to treat them", Haruna recalled.
"I have also been telling my neighbors and friends to encourage their wives, luckily enough, none of them have rejected because they have seen the outcome in my last three children", he said.
Haruna while emphasizing the need for husbands to support and encourage their wives to embrace the practice, said by doing so, they will see the positive impact it will make in the health of their children and the Nursing mothers as well.
He also urged husbands to discourage their wives from feeding their babies with complementary food until after the six months exclusive breastfeeding.
Parents embraces breastfeeding to promote physical and Mental Health, according to The United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Bauchi Field Office (BFO) at a two-day media engagement session it recently organized in Yola, Adamawa state that sought to spotlight the role of fathers and other community level outliers such as grandmothers, among others in supporting and ensuring breastfeeding.
The United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) Bauchi Field Office as part of it's initiative to draw attention to breastfeeding in the first six months of a child through the media sampled opinions during the Yola stakeholders engagement where it was found that the concept is receiving the much needed attention it so desires.
UNICEF Bauchi Field Office Nutrition Specialist, Philomena Irene in a presentation at a two-day Media Dialogue titled: 'Beyond Mothers: Analysing the Role of Fathers and Family Members in Promoting Exclusive Breastfeeding for Child Survival' with journalists from Taraba, Gombe, Plateau, Bauchi and Adamawa states.
She said UNICEF has traditionally focused on educating mothers about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, they are now expanding their advocacy to include fathers and grandmothers as part of their strategy to improve breastfeeding rates.
Irene also noted that fathers being decision makers of the family can influence the success of exclusive breastfeeding practices, especially in states with low indices under the Bauchi field office.
Irene lamented that the," According to the 2021 MICS Survey on breastfeeding, only 53.3 percent practice exclusive breastfeeding in Adamawa state, Bauchi recorded 26.4 percent, Gombe has 30.7 percent, Plateau has 38.6 percent while Taraba recorded only 33.7 percent.
“We are now expanding our scope by including fathers and grandmothers in our advocacy on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding to improve these indices across the states.”
Irene also pointed out the importance of the media in driving behavioral change, which according to her was why the dialogue was held to explore how journalists can tell compelling stories that encourage exclusive breastfeeding.
She mentioned that other stakeholders, including traditional rulers, religious bodies, and groups, especially in rural areas, are being sensitized in collaboration with state governments to spread the message of exclusive breastfeeding more effectively.
Irene, who commended the media for the sustained partnership, explained that the move was informed by the need to reverse the poor Breastfeeding rates in the five BFO states, adding that UNICEF had always engaged women.
She said this year’s theme, ‘Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All,’ underscores the fund’s “commitment to ensuring that every mother in BFO States has access to the support she needs, regardless of her circumstances.”
Presenting a paper entitled “Journalists as Change Agents,” Irene urged the participants at the Media Dialogue to henceforth shift focus from women to engaging men and grandmothers to make the difference.
She pointed out that men and their mothers are key decision makers when it comes to breastfeeding the child.
The UNICEF Specialist therefore urged participants to embrace the new approach to dispel myths and misconceptions about exclusive breastfeeding while convincing fathers and grandmothers to support the practice.
“We must engage all actors along the Warm Chain of Breastfeeding support: civil society organizations, governments, policymakers, health systems, workplaces, communities, and parents,” she said further.
“We call on all stakeholders to invest in breastfeeding support to alleviate social inequalities and promote sustainable development in BFO States.”
According to her, journalists should see themselves as the nutrition specialist to change the perception of those who are not practicing exclusive breastfeeding so that they can become advocates of the practice.
"This time around, we want to do a follow-up on the father's, influencers, grandmother's who are the decision makers in the home rather focusing on the women in regards to breast feeding. More than 80 percent of mothers do not practice exclusive breastfeeding in the Northeast states and this is very disheartening."
Exclusive breastfeeding of babies for six months has been recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) due to its health benefits on both the baby and the mother.
As contained in a UNICEF's Global Breastfeeding Scorecard 2023, breastfeeding has witnessed an increase by 10 percent over the past decade.
The scorecard observed the increase at 48% for 2023, close to the World Health Assembly target of 50% by 2025, with progress happening across different regions where numerous countries in Africa, Asia Europe and Oceania have documented large increases in exclusive breastfeeding with increases of more than ten percentage points in 22 countries since 2017.
According to experts, exclusive breastfeeding means feeding a baby with breast milk only, without any other foods or liquids (including infant formula or water), except for medications or vitamin and mineral supplements.
Babies who are adequately breastfed, experts say, have lower risk of having asthma, Obesity, type 1 diabetes, Severe lower respiratory disease, Acute otitis media (ear infections), Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), Gastrointestinal infections (diarrhea/vomiting), among others.
Not only babies, Breastfeeding has health benefits for the mother too, among which include reduction in risk to breast and ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and high blood pressure.
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