Nutrition, Diet and Health Tips

#breastfeedingsupport There’s alot of data to support Breastmilk as a superior feed to Your infants for the first six months and the continued benefits of Breastfeeding with adequate nutrition for the first 24 months ( 2years) of life.

Even with that, we are still lagging behind when it comes to breastfeeding practises in the Country with mixed feeding ( Giving baby other foods before 6 months together with Breastfeeding) still been a norm.

So how can we as Healthcare workers support our Moms for Effective Breastfeeding?

✅ Prepare for Breastfeeding– During the ANC clinics, Pregnant women should be educated on the importance of Breastfeeding to their baby, themselves and to the society – smart healthy kids are a plus to the community. The education should not stop there.

We need to go further and prepare the Mom’s body for this noble act by ensuring adequate nutrition and the necessary Supplementation to prevent maternal Deficiencies like Iron and Calcium that would otherwise have an impact on the quality of the mom’s breastmilk.

✅ The next thing that we need to do is support the BFCHIs which dictates initiations of breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, support with proper attachments, education on postpartum nutrition adjustments, Hygiene and more to ensure that the well being of both the mom and the baby are taken of.

✅ Encourage Partner/Social Support – The whole process of childbirth and motherhood can be tasking. Educating the society on the importance of providing adequate Support to the mom at this crucial time is not done enough. A well taken care Mother produces more and quality milk. Educate the society on the importance of mental stability for the mom ( Lactation is hormonal mediated which is affected by Stress).

✅ Workplace Support for Working Moms – In the current world, women cannot afford to be stay at home moms. With that said, the work environment should and it MUST be tailored to support moms to continue breastfeeding – Lactation rooms, flexible working plans (remote if possible), lesser tasks for feeding moms, job security for women, some places let go women immediately they get pregnant,😭😔- to ensure continued exclusive feeding for the first six Months.

This are some of the things that we healthcare workers should do to support and promote breastfeeding.

Let me know in the comment section some of the things we can add to support this noble act because breastmilk is superior and nothing comes close to it.

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Here’s my reference:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK148970/

#breastfeedingawareness #registereddietitians #kenyannutritionists #muminawellness #contenteducation #health #2023