I resumed work when my baby was just three months old, says Doris Cole a 29-year-old, Product Manager.

“I wanted to continue exclusively breastfeeding, so I bought a breast pump and packed bottles every morning. But when I got to work, I realised there was nowhere private to express milk. I ended up locking myself in the restroom during lunch breaks. The noise outside made me anxious, and I kept worrying someone would knock on the door.”

Continuing Mrs. Cole said, “Some days I was in back-to-back meetings and couldn’t pump at all. By evening, my breasts were painfully engorged. My milk supply started dropping until my breastmilk supply totally stopped, and I blamed myself.

“I felt like I was failing both as an employee and as a mother. I remember crying in the office restroom one afternoon because I was exhausted, guilty, and overwhelmed.

“I didn’t enjoy my breastfeeding journey at all because of this. I feel it ended against my will,” she added.

For many Nigerian women like Doris, the decision to breastfeed is not the challenge; sustaining it is. Between sleepless nights, mounting financial pressures, demanding workplaces and the emotional toll of new motherhood, breastfeeding often becomes a test of endurance rather than the joyful bonding experience health experts envision.

This reality sits at the heart of this year’s World Breastfeeding Week theme, “Breastfeeding for a Sustainable Start in Life: Strengthen What Works,” a global call led by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNICEF to reinforce the health systems, workplace policies and community support that enable mothers to breastfeed successfully.

Nigeria has made measurable progress over the past decade. According to the 2023 – 24 Nigeria Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), the proportion of infants exclusively breastfed for the first six months increased from 17 per cent in 2013 to 29 per cent in 2018, but has since stagnated at 29 per cent.

More concerning, the percentage of babies put to the breast within the first hour of birth declined from 42 per cent in 2018 to 36 per cent in the latest survey, while only 23 per cent of Nigerian children continue breastfeeding until the recommended age of two years. These figures remain well below the World Health Assembly’s target of 60 per cent exclusive breastfeeding by 2030, signalling that awareness alone is no longer enough.

Behind these statistics are mothers navigating sleepless nights, postpartum recovery, economic realities, workplace inflexibility and the emotional pressure to exclusively breastfeed, often with little institutional support.

Experts say the sustainability of breastfeeding depends not only on a mother’s determination but on the willingness of families, employers, healthcare providers and policymakers to create environments where she can succeed without sacrificing her mental health.

Medical doctor, International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC), and founder of The Milk Booster and Milk Bank Nigeria, Dr. Chinenye Obinwanne, said the conversation around breastfeeding must shift from placing the burden solely on mothers to recognising it as a shared responsibility.

According to her, breastfeeding success depends on a continuum of support that begins before childbirth and extends well into a baby’s first years.

“It takes a village to support a breastfeeding mother. People often say it takes a village to raise a child, but the same principle applies to breastfeeding. While breastfeeding does not necessarily have a financial cost, it delivers enormous returns on investment in terms of healthier children, healthier families and healthier societies.”

Dr. Obinwanne explains that one of the strongest support systems begins during pregnancy. “Mothers should receive breastfeeding education during antenatal care, equipping them with practical knowledge before the baby arrives.

“A mother should receive hands-on, skilled lactation support immediately after childbirth. However, many women leave the hospital and discover that the real challenges begin at home. Access to a lactation consultant during those early weeks can make all the difference, helping mothers overcome challenges before they become overwhelming.”

For many mothers, the absence of expert guidance transforms manageable breastfeeding difficulties into emotional crises.
One of the biggest misconceptions surrounding breastfeeding, according to Dr. Obinwanne, is the belief that because it is natural, it should automatically be easy. “Breastfeeding is natural, but that does not mean it is easy. It is a learned skill between a mother and her baby.”

She said many women encounter painful nipples, breast engorgement, mastitis, latching difficulties and uncertainty over whether their babies are getting enough milk. “By the time many mothers seek help, one of the most common things I hear is, ‘I feel like I am failing my baby.'”

Those feelings, she said, are intensified by hormonal changes, sleep deprivation and the constant demands of caring for a newborn.

“A mother is already adjusting physically and emotionally after childbirth. Add the overwhelming pressure to feed her baby successfully, and the impact on her mental health can be significant. In some cases, that emotional burden may contribute to postnatal depression.

Dr. Obinwanne also emphasised that families play an equally important role. She observes that once a baby arrives, most relatives direct their attention to the newborn while overlooking the mother’s wellbeing.

“The mother’s body has gone through a tremendous experience, and her mental health is often under considerable strain. Families need to pay attention to how she is coping emotionally. They should help with household responsibilities, allow her adequate rest and create an environment where her primary focus can be feeding and recovering.”

While noting that the workplace remains one of the biggest obstacles to sustained breastfeeding, she said that employers need to rethink how mothers return from maternity leave.

“A gradual return to work is far more supportive than expecting mothers to resume full-time duties immediately. Organisations should provide hygienic lactation rooms, scheduled pumping breaks and breastfeeding-friendly policies so mothers do not have to express milk in restrooms.”

She noted that these measures benefit employers as much as employees. “When mothers are unable to express milk, babies may become ill more frequently, forcing mothers to miss work. Supporting breastfeeding is not simply a welfare initiative, it improves productivity and reduces absenteeism.”

Beyond individual families and organisations, Dr. Obinwanne argues that breastfeeding is an investment in national development. “Healthier babies mean fewer hospital admissions, lower healthcare costs and healthier communities. Every breastfeeding mother deserves support because that support produces long-term benefits for the entire country.”

Perinatal Mental Health Therapist, Tinuke Atilade explained that breastfeeding and maternal mental health are closely connected, although the relationship is often misunderstood.

She cautioned against assuming breastfeeding difficulties directly cause postpartum depression or anxiety. “These conditions usually result from several interacting factors, including hormonal changes, sleep deprivation, birth experiences, previous mental health history and the level of support available to a mother.”

Nevertheless, she says breastfeeding challenges frequently become an additional emotional burden.

“I have worked with mothers who desperately wanted to breastfeed but struggled with latching, low milk supply, pain or the feeling that they had exhausted every possible option. The pressure to exclusively breastfeed sometimes turns feeding into a source of guilt, disappointment and emotional exhaustion.”

For mothers who are already overwhelmed, those struggles may contribute to postpartum anxiety or depression.

Atilade noted that breastfeeding challenges are not limited to mothers experiencing feeding difficulties. She recounts supporting women who successfully breastfed but still experienced severe emotional exhaustion because their babies fed almost continuously and refused bottles.

“The issue was not milk supply. It was the relentless physical and emotional demands of being constantly needed. The question should not simply be how the baby is feeding. We also need to ask how the mother is coping. A healthy feeding journey requires a supported mother.”

Atilade further explained that many postpartum mental health challenges remain hidden because mothers often continue functioning despite emotional distress.

“Many mothers are caring for their babies, returning to work, smiling in photographs and fulfilling their responsibilities while quietly struggling with anxiety, depression or emotional exhaustion.”

She urged families to ask mothers meaningful questions rather than focusing exclusively on newborns. “Instead of asking only, ‘How is the baby?’ loved ones should also ask, ‘How are you really doing?'”

She also encouraged mothers who feel overwhelmed to abandon unrealistic expectations of perfection. “Many women grieve the breastfeeding journey they imagined they would have. They feel guilty when reality looks different. Breastfeeding is something both mother and baby learn together. If things do not go according to plan, that does not mean the mother has failed.”

She however advised mothers to seek help early from lactation consultants, healthcare professionals or therapists instead of struggling in silence.

“There is no reward for suffering alone. Feeding your baby is only one part of motherhood. Your love, responsiveness and presence matter far more than how milk reaches your baby’s stomach.”

For maternal health advocate and Nutrition4KidsNG co-founder, Omolabake Matthew, supporting breastfeeding requires stronger systems rather than greater pressure on mothers.

She noted that Nigeria already has several policies promoting breastfeeding, including the National Policy on Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition, the National Policy on Infant and Young Child Feeding, the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative and maternity leave provisions.
”
The challenge is not necessarily the absence of policies but implementation. Mental health support is also largely absent from routine maternal healthcare.”

According to her, strengthening existing systems means integrating breastfeeding counselling, mental health services and workplace support into standard maternal care.

“Government should strengthen maternity protection and integrate routine mental health screening into maternal healthcare.

“Employers should establish breastfeeding-friendly workplaces by providing adequate maternity leave, flexible work arrangements where possible and organisational cultures that support rather than penalise working mothers.

“Communities, including families, religious institutions and community leaders, should provide emotional encouragement instead of unrealistic expectations or criticism. When mothers feel supported rather than judged, they are more likely to breastfeed successfully and care effectively for both themselves and their babies.”

Matthew argued that comprehensive postpartum care offers the greatest opportunity to improve breastfeeding outcomes. “If I could prioritise one intervention, it would be making comprehensive postpartum care the standard for every mother.

“When we care for mothers as intentionally as we care for babies, we create healthier families, healthier communities and a healthier nation.”