Gynaecologists across the country say children who are not exclusively breastfed up to six months of their birth may suffer from a range of infectious diseases and under-nutrition.
They advise that health promotion and public health interventions should encourage exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months without water.
The specialists said that the constituents of a mother’s breast milk change over time to suit the baby’s appetite and nutrition demands, saying that this is one of the major advantages breast milk has over baby formula which its constituents remain the same all year round.
A Consultant Obstetrician and Gynaecologist at Ekiti State University Teaching Hospital, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State, Southwest Nigeria, Dr Babatunde Rosiji said the best form of meal for babies is breast milk as it serves the baby’s nutrition demands at all times.
He said, “This is the reason we talk about exclusive breastfeeding for at least six months without water. A child fed with breast milk for six months has gotten the nutrients and things that would help in his early life.
“Breastfed babies have a lot of antibodies that help in boosting their immunity against disease and help them to fight sickness. They don’t get sick like many other children who are not fed with breast milk. “Also, why breast milk is important is that it supplies the body the right form of nutrients at different times. It guarantees a balanced diet because it produces the right meal in the right proportion that the baby needs.
“The breast milk that a mother’s body supplies in the morning is not the same in the afternoon and evening. It changes and that is why babies fed exclusively with breast milk will never be malnourished except there is an underlying medical condition.
“Unlike the baby formula that will offer the same thing in the morning, afternoon and evening, breast milk changes to suit what the body of the baby craves. So, we encourage women and nursing mothers to embrace exclusive breastfeeding as a way of averting malnutrition.”
