More women adopt exclusive breastfeeding in Kebbi
More nursing mothers in Kebbi communities are fast adopting exclusive breastfeeding of their new born babies as recommended by the World Health Organization.
A Caliphate Trust correspondent reports that many women in Argungu, Birnin Kebbi and other communities have now abandoned feeding their babies with baby fomula or local food.
At Unguwan Mai-fada, Felende area of Argungu, the nursing mothers, who spoke to our correspondent said they dumped the old tradition for exclusive breastfeeding because they saw the differences in the babies that were fed with food and water and those that were well breastfed within the first six months of birth.
Halima Abubakar, 32, mother of five children at Unguwan Mai-fada said “I delivered two out of my five children at home. It was when I was at the hospital to deliver my third child that they educated me on breastfeeding for six months without water. I never knew it was possible to do that until I tried it.
``What I noticed was that the child I breastfed for six months doesn’t often get sick unlike the others I gave birth to before him. Anytime I noticed that he is feeling sick I will give him paracetamol and he would be well. But for the others that I didn’t breastfeed for six months, they are always falling sick and I must take them to the hospital before they could get well.
``I also realized that the child I breastfed exclusively is more intelligent and stronger than the other three,’’ she said.
Another mother of three Aishatu Abu, said: “Only one out of my three children has a problem of falling sick always. I don’t have problem with the other two because I practiced exclusive breastfeeding.
``I am now telling other women in the community about it so that they can also adopt it. I tell them it is good to give their child only breastmilk for six months after that they can give them any other food. Thank God many of them are now adopting to that and they can see the difference in the children they gave birth to earlier and the ones they gave only breast milk to for six months.
``No tradition, religion or husband says we should not practice exclusive breastfeeding. I think it was just ignorance. Thank God we now know it is good to do so for the health of our children.
The health workers and nurses sometimes go from community to community to educate us on reasons why we should give only breast milk to our children in the first six months and from what I have experience I think many of the mothers here have resolved to practice that.”
Malam Ali Ahmed, who also lives in the area told our correspondent that he has two wives and eight children but only three of them were exclusively breastfed. He added that those who did not have such opportunity were adversely affected.
“What I noticed was that the skin of the three children that were breastfed is different from that of the other five others. Unlike the other five they don’t fall sick, they are stronger and their skins appear different from their siblings’”.
His wife, Shafatu Ali said: “They advised us to breastfeed our babies for six months without water, we are doing so and we are getting good results because the children don’t get sick like before. We didn’t hear of it before but we now understand better.”
The village head of Mai Fada, Malam Yusuf Maigari said health workers have been coming to his community to educate them on health issues such as polio, exclusive breastfeeding, maternal and newborns.
“They have been educating our women on the need to breast feed their babies. I was also part of the advocacy and I thank God it is yielding positive results. The women here are now knowledgeable about the danger of not breastfeeding their child well”.
The State Health Educator for UNICEF in Kebbi State, Yusuf Umar said there was an increase in the number of women who practiced exclusive breastfeeding in the state.
“In the past few years the level of adaptation was 10 percent but now it has increased to 35 percent,” he said.