UNICEF recommends exclusive breast-feeding for balanced growth of infants
With equal parts of eagerness and trepidation,
six-month-old Jason Trayvon munches on the piece of biscuit his mother
placed in his mouth. It is the very first piece of food he tastes, aside
from the breast milk he has known so far and is accustomed to. In a
deliberate motion, under the loving gaze of his parents, he slowly
bites, sucks, and then swallows the biscuit, but then refuses another
piece.
For Unity, his mother, the wait for this moment has been long and strenuous, but worth it. “I have had fewer health problems with Jason,” she says. “I was spared the headaches of diarrhoea, dysentery, and other similar diseases, because I stuck to the principle of feeding my son with breast milk exclusively, for the first six months of his life”.
All three of her children were exclusively breastfed during the first six months of their lives, and as a result, are relatively healthier and more robust than other children within their age range, who did not undergo the same nutritional procedure, in the North region. According to a 2012 Demographic Health Survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and UNICEF, only one in a hundred babies is fed as such in Northern Cameroon. In fact, an estimated 55,000 infants are at risk of suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the North and Far-North regions of the country, despite the fact that breastfeeding and the cultivation of proper nutritional habits are enormously beneficial, as health experts testify.
Aside from ensuring that the infant receives the nutrients it needs, breast feeding immediately after delivery helps the uterus retract thus reducing post-partum blood loss, a principal cause of maternal mortality in Cameroon.
Besides, supplementing breast milk before the first six months of a child’s life is not recommended because it predisposes the child to infections. This is further worsened by prevailing hygienic practices, for it is not uncommon to see grandmothers directing tricklings of water into the mouths of newborn babies with unwashed hands, from dirty containers, even at maternities.
“Parents ought to be more aware of the necessity to prioritize the health of their offspring by practicing proper hygienic habits and also very importantly, learn about and provide proper nutrition for them,” asserts Suzan Ukum, senior state registered nurse serving at the Garoua Regional Hospital.
With intense sensitization campaigns among other actions being spearheaded by UNICEF on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged six months and below, the organ hopes to reverse the trend. In addition, over 26,000 children have already received life-saving corrective treatment with nutritional products.
By advocating for the change in, and cultivation of positive habits and mentalities, UNICEF hopes that values enshrined in the Millennium Development goals, which highlights improved health and proper nutrition for all, would eventually become a reality in northern Cameroon, like elsewhere worldwide.
Unity is convinced that if other mothers follow her example, health centres will in the future see fewer infant patients seeking treatment for malnutrition- and hygiene-related diseases and complications.
“It is that simple and less stressful”, she emphasizes. “Breastfeeding your children exclusively for the first six months, is a major proof of your love for them and for yourself, for who does not long for a society full of healthy and fit people?”
Louisa Akwanka Achatoh.
For Unity, his mother, the wait for this moment has been long and strenuous, but worth it. “I have had fewer health problems with Jason,” she says. “I was spared the headaches of diarrhoea, dysentery, and other similar diseases, because I stuck to the principle of feeding my son with breast milk exclusively, for the first six months of his life”.
All three of her children were exclusively breastfed during the first six months of their lives, and as a result, are relatively healthier and more robust than other children within their age range, who did not undergo the same nutritional procedure, in the North region. According to a 2012 Demographic Health Survey carried out by the National Institute of Statistics and UNICEF, only one in a hundred babies is fed as such in Northern Cameroon. In fact, an estimated 55,000 infants are at risk of suffering from severe acute malnutrition in the North and Far-North regions of the country, despite the fact that breastfeeding and the cultivation of proper nutritional habits are enormously beneficial, as health experts testify.
Aside from ensuring that the infant receives the nutrients it needs, breast feeding immediately after delivery helps the uterus retract thus reducing post-partum blood loss, a principal cause of maternal mortality in Cameroon.
Besides, supplementing breast milk before the first six months of a child’s life is not recommended because it predisposes the child to infections. This is further worsened by prevailing hygienic practices, for it is not uncommon to see grandmothers directing tricklings of water into the mouths of newborn babies with unwashed hands, from dirty containers, even at maternities.
“Parents ought to be more aware of the necessity to prioritize the health of their offspring by practicing proper hygienic habits and also very importantly, learn about and provide proper nutrition for them,” asserts Suzan Ukum, senior state registered nurse serving at the Garoua Regional Hospital.
With intense sensitization campaigns among other actions being spearheaded by UNICEF on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for infants aged six months and below, the organ hopes to reverse the trend. In addition, over 26,000 children have already received life-saving corrective treatment with nutritional products.
By advocating for the change in, and cultivation of positive habits and mentalities, UNICEF hopes that values enshrined in the Millennium Development goals, which highlights improved health and proper nutrition for all, would eventually become a reality in northern Cameroon, like elsewhere worldwide.
Unity is convinced that if other mothers follow her example, health centres will in the future see fewer infant patients seeking treatment for malnutrition- and hygiene-related diseases and complications.
“It is that simple and less stressful”, she emphasizes. “Breastfeeding your children exclusively for the first six months, is a major proof of your love for them and for yourself, for who does not long for a society full of healthy and fit people?”
Louisa Akwanka Achatoh.
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