Celebrating Success Stories and Bridging the Gaps: World Breastfeeding Week
Maternal nutrition is a crucial activity that requires the involvement of every family member. Lactating mothers often face challenges such as inadequate knowledge about proper food and nutrition. To help mothers understand the importance of breastfeeding, ADS W Western, through its Health and Social Protection projects, has been working with mothers in Western Kenya to promote wholesome living.
Despite evidence showing that poor infant feeding practices negatively impact the health, growth, and overall development of children, the recently released Kenya Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) states that 60% of children are not exclusively breastfed from birth to six months. This statistic is reflected in the high infant mortality rates reported by the same survey.
When we met Annet Nafula, she was struggling to care for her newborn baby. She thought that diluted cow’s milk was suitable for her baby. Due to poverty, Jane couldn’t stay with her child all day, forcing her to leave the baby behind to find casual work such as digging terraces and doing construction work to supplement the family income.
“I have come to realize that Breastfeeding is the first immunization the child gets,” Annet says. Breast milk is affordable and available 24/7, so we need to increase breastfeeding rates to promote better nutrition and strengthen the bond between mother and child.
Annet lives with her elderly mother-in-law. When ADS Western identified the family, they took the initiative to educate the secondary caregivers on how to handle the baby. Annet has since been trained on how to express her milk and leave enough for the baby for almost four hours when she’s not around.
Research indicates that breastfeeding has numerous advantages, including preventing 823,000 child deaths per year among children under five. Breastfeeding reduces infection-related mortality by 88% among infants under three months, prevents 72% of all diarrhea admissions, and 57% of respiratory infection admissions.
According to the Ministry of Health, the percentage of nursing women in Kenya rose from 32% in 2008 to 61% in 2014. However, the percentage has since slightly declined to 60% in 2022, falling short of the 70% global target.
As we conclude World Breastfeeding Awareness Week, we want to encourage family support for mothers. This year’s theme is “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.”
