Experts urge mothers on breastfeeding

By Henry Mugenyi 

Families across the country spend quite a significant amount of money treating children with diarrhoea, pneumonia and other afflictions that breastfeeding helps to prevent.

Despite substantial evidence on the health and cognitive benefits, the vast the majority of children are not breastfed according to available data.

Although over 90% of children in Uganda are breastfed at some point, the percentage of children exclusively breastfed decreases.

According to Nabirye Zabuna, a public health specialist, studies show that babies who are breastfed for at least a year grow up to be significantly more intelligent as adults and earn more money as well as decreasing the disease burden of the country.

Some mothers acknowledge the need to breastfeed their children.

The growing trend of Ugandan mothers that do not want to breast feed their babies is posing a risk to the future generation.

Experts are worried about the intellectual levels of children that have not been breastfed for the recommended two years.

The costs of not breastfeeding are enormous, given that over 600,000 children and 100,000 women die globally every year due to illnesses that could be prevented by breastfeeding.

The World Health Organization recommends that all babies be exclusively breastfed for 6 months, then gradually introduced to appropriate foods after 6 months while continuing to breastfeed for 2 years or beyond.

The concern about breastfeeding comes as Uganda joins the rest of the world to commemorate the Breastfeeding Week, which is considered one of the largest joint campaigns undertaken by international organizations to improve the lives and wellbeing of children.

This year, the theme of the week is "Step up for Breastfeeding -Educate and Support".

The year's campaign will focus on strengthening the capacity of actors that have to protect, promote and support breastfeeding across different levels of society.