An NGO, Support Towards Advancement Networking and Development for Women and Children ( STAND FOUNDATION) has advocated for policies that would create a conducive environment and provide the necessary support for breastfeeding mothers in public and private sectors.
The Executive Director of STAND Foundation, Sayo Adeleye disclosed this in a statement to commemorate 2019 World Breastfeeding Week.
The World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated every year from 1st – 7th August to encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies and improve the health of those babies all over the world.
According to her, this week commemorates the Innocenti Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policymakers, WHO, UNICEF and other organizations to protect, promote and support breastfeeding. We seeks for the total welfare of women and children calls for the promotion of policies to that will create a conducive environment and provide the necessary support for breastfeeding mothers.
“These policies must cut across both public and private sectors and they include paid maternity leave for a minimum of 6 months and paternity leave to give fathers an opportunity to bond with their babies and to give the mothers the necessary support in the first few weeks after delivery, she said.
She explained further that organizations must also have breastfeeding friendly policies for mothers after maternity leave. “Workplaces must have breastfeeding friendly policies to make it easy for mothers to continue breastfeeding upon return to work by giving them breastfeeding breaks as well as providing affordable childcare in form of clean, safe and hygienic breastfeeding centres within the workplace premises.
“Mothers must also show greater commitment to breastfeeding as breastfeeding promotes better health for mothers and children alike. Goal 3, Target 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) projects that by 2030 there should be an end to preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1000 live births.
She urged the mothers not to relent in achieving this goal as it boosts the immunity of babies and decreases the risk of mothers developing breast cancer, ovarian cancer, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease.