As the World continues to commemorate the 2022 Breastfeeding Week, The Nigeria Association of Women Journalists, NAWOJ, Ondo State is lending her voice to advocacy for access to counselling on skilled breastfeeding as a critical component of breastfeeding support for Nursing Mothers, to make breastfeeding a major component of their feeding pattern.
This year’s World Breastfeeding Week is with the theme, Step Up for Breastfeeding: Educate and Support”.
In a Press Statement to commemorate the day in Akure, Ondo NAWOJ Chairperson, Doris Olumoko and Secretary, Tosin Ighoteguono reminds women that breastfeeding is beneficial for babies and families while studies have shown that increasing rate of exclusive breastfeeding could save the lives of over One Million children every year.
The Association urges mothers not to relent in the efforts to engender a safe and healthy society regardless of social status as both the rich and the poor are endowed to breastfeed.
Ondo NAWOJ also charges Mothers to know that breastfeeding comes with commitment and lot of sacrifices and appealed to them to give full support to every effort aimed at counseling and encouraging women in nurturing the children to become adults of integrity.
‘As we congratulate all the women folks in this new month and in commemoration of World Breastfeeding Week 2022, there is the need for the society to avoid care practices that may interfere with optimal breastfeeding, such as the introduction of liquids, infant foods or other breast milk substitutes to babies, except where experts have ruled that advantages of such interventions will outweigh the risks of tampering with the development of the child’s full potential and functionality’
Ondo NAWOJ appreciates all the great women and men committed to the task of supporting mothers to build a strong foundation of “life and wealth”, emphasizing that, for our children as “food is life” breastfeeding offers both nourishing food and good health.