Why nursing mother should breastfeed exclusively – Coordinator
"Breast milk prevent children from falling sick including and when a child is also malnourished such child’s immunity will be low and can easily fall sick to many diseases including pneumonia."
The Programme Coordinator, Women Friendly Initiative (WFI), Mrs Rosemary Adaji, has advised nursing mothers to practice exclusive breastfeeding in order to safeguard their babies’ health.
Adaji gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Gwagwalada, Abuja on Friday shortly after an atenatal programme for women.
The programme coordinator said breastfeeding is highly beneficial for mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively for the first six months after delivery.
“Exclusive breastfeeding is good because it is very nutritious and a defense for babies as it contains all the nutrients a baby needs to grow well at the tender stage.
“Breast milk prevent children from falling sick including and when a child is also malnourished such child’s immunity will be low and can easily fall sick to many diseases including pneumonia.
“As a nursing mother, you are expected to eat good food to enrich your milk and keep your baby healthy.
“This also helps in bonding the mother and the child aside from providing the first immunity for the child at birth.
“Exclusive breastfeeding is very nutritious and a defense for babies because it contains all the nutrients a baby needs to grow well at the tender stage,” she said.
Adaji implored nursing mothers not only to exclusively breastfeed their babies for six months, but also continue breastfeeding the babies for two years though with complementary diets because of the huge benefits to children and mothers.