Gov’t should adopt breastfeeding policies – Educationist
Lesedi Mkhutshwa | Monday August 21, 2023 06:00
Sebina was addressing members of the Monarch community during the breastfeeding week commemoration. The event was held under the theme, ‘Enabling breast feeding: Making a difference for working parents’.
She said this year’s breastfeeding week theme challenges the workplace to align policies and processes to allow their employees to successfully breastfeed while working.
“This can be achieved when policies allow for a flexible work schedule which enables the expression of milk and where possible provision of accommodation that is fairly near the workplace,” she elaborated.
In Sebina’s view, breastfeeding mothers should not be discouraged from choosing exclusive breastfeeding merely because they work, but rather encouraged by the fact that their workplace supports them during this stage.
This will not only give them peace of mind but also cut unnecessary expenditure incurred when buying formula milk for their babies, she added.
According to her, private companies and government employment policies should also support breastfeeding mothers and provide an enabling environment for them to achieve exclusive breastfeeding for six months as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
The government should also consider introducing breastfeeding areas at public places, such as bus or train stations, airports, and shopping malls, said Sebina.
Speaking of statistics, she indicated that in Botswana a total of 500 toddlers who were formula fed died between 2005 and 2006, while those who were breastfed just fell sick and survived.
WHO estimates that globally 1.5 million infants who are not breastfed die every year. She further said that the exclusive breastfeeding rate in Botswana has declined and currently at 20%.
Therefore, Sebina emphasised the need to promote breastfeeding and appealed to all the stakeholders to come on board and help promote breastfeeding.
Moreover, she encouraged families and communities to support mothers who breastfeed their babies without fear or discrimination. She added that this can be done through the formation of breast- feeding support groups within communities through the assistance of health care workers as can also influence new mothers to view breastfeeding as achievable and enjoyable.
“That feeling a mother experiences when the baby sucks the breast coupled with playing joyfully with the leg is heart-warming, and every woman should have the opportunity to feel it,” she added.