The title of my article is a compelling message adopted from the theme of the 2015 World Breastfeeding Week celebrated every year from 1st to 7th August in more than 170 countries. It is to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies around the world.

 

It commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, World Health Organisation (WHO), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and other organisations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.

 

Every year, the global community sets aside a week to draw attention to the importance of breastfeeding, not only in the lives of the most disadvantaged children but also in the strength of societies. The theme of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week, Breastfeeding and Work -- Let’s make it Work! Focuses on what we can do to help millions of working mothers give their babies the best possible start in life -- by supporting stronger workplace policies that promote breastfeeding. 

 

How many of us as employers of labour have a strong workplace policy that encourages breastfeeding mothers to be working and at the same time having the opportunity to be breastfeeding their babies on demand? 

Breastfeeding helps children to survive and thrive; enabling infants to withstand infections, providing critical nutrients for the early development of their brains and bodies, and strengthening the bond between mothers and their babies. And the benefits of breastfeeding last a lifetime. 

 

A recent Lancet study found that “infants who were breastfed for at least one year went on to stay in school longer, score higher on intelligence tests, and earn more as adults than those who were breastfed for only a month.”  Despite this growing evidence, only 38 per cent of infants around the world today are breastfed exclusively for even the recommended first six months of life. 

 

We should be aware that the World Health Assembly has set a global target of increasing exclusive breastfeeding rates for children under six months of age to at least 50 per cent by 2025. To achieve this ambitious and very important goal, we need to tackle all the barriers to breastfeeding. Governments should lead the charge by making breastfeeding a policy priority in national development plans, increasing resources for programming that supports breastfeeding, and working with communities and families to promote the full benefits of breastfeeding. 

 

Today, of the approximately 830 million women workers in the world, the majority do not benefit from workplace policies that support nursing mothers. And this figure does not include women working in informal, seasonal or part-time employment, often the poorest women in poorer countries who may face even greater barriers to continued breastfeeding. This is not only a loss to working mothers and their babies. It is also a loss to employers.

 

 

Working mothers with adequate maternity benefits including a breastfeeding supportive workplace, as revealed in a report, increases job satisfaction and greater loyalty to their employers. Breastfed children fall sick less often, so their mothers are absent from work less often, too. These effects in turn contribute to higher productivity ultimately benefiting businesses and the larger economies to which they contribute. 

 

In a powerful commentary written by Flavia Bustreo, Assistant Director-General - Family, Women’s and Children’s Health on 5th August 2015, she reported that 

“as a young doctor working with refugees in the former Yugoslavia and Iraq, I attended births and delivered babies, even in these precarious situations, most babies did have access to the single most important health intervention; Breast milk is the original “super food.”

She highlighted that we are increasingly discovering its amazing properties and health benefits. It is the best source of nutrition for babies; there is no substitute that can replicate it, which is why WHO recommends breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months of life.

 

In poor countries breastfeeding is estimated to prevent nearly half of all diarrhoeal episodes and one third of all respiratory infections. In many countries, breastfed babies have fewer infections and face a reduced risk of sudden infant death syndrome compared with babies who are fed breast milk substitutes. Breastfeeding creates an emotional bond between mother and child, and is linked to positive psychomotor and social development of the child. 

Breastfed babies are also less likely to develop type-2 diabetes, or be overweight or obese as adults. Breastfeeding has a positive lifelong impact on health.

 

The commentary revealed that despite all the evidence, only one third of babies worldwide are breastfed exclusively for the first six months of life, and these rates have not substantially improved in the past 20 years. 

 

I will conclude this article by emphasizing that as employers or managers, it doesn’t cost much to support your breastfeeding staff. The following are suggestions;

 

1.    Ensure that nursing women are able to take short breaks and have flexible working hours, so they can breastfeed or pump milk.

2.    Provide a suitable space in the office or nearby which is easily accessible to do this.

3.    Breastfeeding takes very little time out of an employee’s day and lasts for such a small period over a woman’s entire career. When working women are supported and given some flexibility at this special time in their lives, they are likely to be more committed and happier at work.

It is a win-win situation that builds loyal employees, gives babies the best source of nourishment available, and benefits society as a whole. Let’s make it work.

 

By Dr Aminu Magashi

Daily Trust