Breastfeeding beyond the mother

World Breastfeeding Week, annually observed in the first week of August, highlights the crucial role of breastfeeding in children's growth, survival, development, maternal health, and societal well-being. This year's theme, "Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works," aims to assess progress, measure impact, and expand successful methods for enhancing breastfeeding practices.

Health authorities recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the child's first six months, as it supplies necessary nutrients and protects against infections. Concurrently, it reduces the risks of breast and ovarian cancers and type 2 diabetes for mothers.

Organizations like UNICEF and WHO advocate for investment in solutions that include strengthening health systems, providing quality breastfeeding support, community-based counseling, peer programs, paid maternity leave, supportive workplace policies, and integration of breastfeeding interventions into antenatal, perinatal, and postnatal care.

In Nigeria, some measures are already implemented, though unevenly. Federal civil servants receive four months of maternity leave with full pay, while private-sector workers typically get three months with half pay. Some states, such as Lagos, have extended maternity leave to six months with full pay, acknowledging that mothers need more time to bond with their infants and recover physically.

Lagos and other states' initiatives could boost exclusive breastfeeding, potentially preventing nearly 400,000 child deaths and 140,000 maternal deaths annually. However, Nigeria's current progress, with over 34% of infants benefiting from exclusive breastfeeding (up from 10% between 2012-2024), falls short of the WHO's target of at least 50% by 2025, and the revised 2030 goal of 60%.

Nigeria needs to address challenges faced by working mothers. Short maternity leave forces many mothers to return to work prematurely, and workplaces lacking breastfeeding-friendly facilities exacerbate the issue. This situation impacts maternal and mental health and child development.

Nigeria's Labour Act provides nursing mothers with 30 minutes twice daily to breastfeed in workplaces with breastfeeding-friendly facilities. However, this provision is only applicable in such environments. The urgent need for workplace reforms that support exclusive breastfeeding and child well-being is evident. To achieve these reforms, we must recognize breastfeeding as a collective investment in human capital development, ensuring healthy child growth and societal productivity.

Employers and communities should collaborate to create supportive environments for breastfeeding mothers through adequate maternity leave, flexible workplace policies, and community support systems. Breastfeeding is a shared responsibility that requires coordinated action across families, communities, workplaces, and government to meet the WHO target by 2030.