In the past, a typical African mother had no qualms breastfeeding her child anywhere. Her major concern was ensuring that her child was promptly fed whenever the need arose. In recent times, however, this culture has gradually diminished, as it is now mainly practised among the so-called illiterate mums, who are regarded as being rural. Many infants are, therefore, fed with baby formulas and artificial milk products during their formative period. This is considered not so healthy for their growth.

This development must have prompted experts in this field to keep hammering on the need for women to exclusively breastfeed their infants for at least six months before introducing them to other foods. This, they say, helps to boost their immunity, as well as properly develop their mental and intellectual capacities.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has been in the vanguard of those championing this cause, as it recommends exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for up to six months of age, with continued breastfeeding along with appropriate complementary foods up to two years of age or beyond.

WHO recommends colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, as the perfect food for the newborn. And breastfeeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth. Researchers have discovered that immune factors present in the colostrum guard against invading germs by forming a protective layer on the baby’s mucous membranes in his intestines, nose and throat.

According to reports by UNICEF, optimal breastfeeding of infants under two years of age has the greatest potential impact on child survival. This has the potential to prevent over 800,000 deaths (13 per cent of all deaths) in children under five in the developing world. Breastfed children have at least six times greater chance of survival in the early months than non-breastfed ones. An exclusively breastfed child is 14 times less likely to die in the first six months than a non-breastfed child, and breastfeeding drastically reduces deaths from acute respiratory infection and diarrhea, two major child killers.

Apparently, it was in response and acknowledgement of the importance of exclusive breastfeeding that the Nigerian government established the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI) in Benin, Enugu, Maiduguri, Lagos, Jos and Port Harcourt. The aim is to provide mothers and their infants with a supportive environment for breastfeeding, as well as promote appropriate breastfeeding practices, thus helping to reduce infant morbidity and mortality rates. In spite of this measure, however, infant mortality rate is yet to be reduced to the barest minimum as recommended by WHO/UNICEF. Presently, there are 74.09 deaths per 1000 live births, as recorded in 2014. WHO/UNICEF recommends 90 per cent EBF in children less than six months in developing countries.

But as nice and well-meaning as this recommendation sounds, some women have complained that it is unrealistic and impracticable in modern-day living. This category of women readily points to the stress modern mothers have to undergo in their bid to augment their families income to engender quality living.

Interestingly, some working mothers have been able to achieve this ‘feat.’ Just how did they do it? They share their experiences while nursing their infants with The Guardian.

Margaret Eke, a public servant, who said she breastfed her infant exclusively, however, noted that it was quite stressful walking that path.

“In order to achieve that, I had to take my child along with me to work with the assistance of a nanny. I described it as stressful because I had to wake up very early to prepare the baby, the home, despite breastfeeding throughout the night and myself. I had to do all that before leaving for work, which starts at 8 am. I had very little sleep.

“However, I would also say the experience was rewarding, as I could see how healthy my baby was and still is. In terms of organisational policy, I would say it is fair enough even though I still maintain my advocacy of six months maternity leave and the establishment of crèche within office premises. It makes it easier for mothers and will in turn help inspire productivity. I say six months maternity leave because to achieve EBF, you must feed that child only with breast milk for that period. This comes with huge health benefits for the child and even the mother.

“Unfortunately, most mothers are unable to do this because they have to be at work and most times the babies are far away from them.”

Another working mum, Yvonne Odita said: “It was a very worthwhile experience. Raising three kids, while working is no mean feat. The bond is inexplicable. I usually do exclusive breastfeeding for the first three months, and then I start expressing after the third month because of work. This is, however, never enough because the baby has to take it at frequent intervals. So, I introduced infant formula after the fourth month to augment during the day and breast milk all night.

“You have to be mentally prepared, because if not, lactation will be pretty difficult. Your mind has to be devoid of any kind of stress to be able to lactate and also eat very well,” she advised. Even though her organisation’s policy allowed for some form of flexibility, as she was given few hours away from work after three months of resumption, she said a working nursing mum’s capacity to fully produce or under produce depends on her stress level.

Speaking on the evolution of nursing mums and breastfeeding culture, a retired midwife and public health officer, Mrs. Remi Akinmade said; “In those days, we had our traditional practices, which in most cases were very good, though some were bad. In the 50s and 60s, mothers breastfed their children exclusively for more than a year and polygamy helped this trend, as their husbands wouldn’t bother them, but would go to the next wife. And women were not engaged in 8am to 8pm jobs. But Africans have been brainwashed by the Whiteman, who convinced us that our beliefs were wrong, just as they did in time of slave trade, while taking away our artifacts.

“The campaign for EBF became strong from the late 60s to the 2000s. It is somehow interesting and funny that they are now turning round to tell and convince us to do what we were formerly doing and which they condemned. This is because they have now discovered that most babies that are bottle-fed don’t thrive. Some mothers in this category go out of their way to look for money with which to buy infant formula, which their husbands wouldn’t give them. Some of them also over dilute the formula, while others are not hygienic in their handling of the feeding bottles they use. As a result, so many children were having diarrhea coupled with the fact that they were underweight.

“The beautiful thing about the six months EBF is that the child takes only breast milk. No water is added, as everything is in right proportion. Nature has made it that the baby gets the right proportion of nutrients. It is in the right temperature and all a mother needs is adequate information on how best to position the child during breastfeeding. Some mothers would breastfeed every two hours to ensure the baby do not go hungry. Breast milk is very cheap and readily available.”

While commenting on the unwilling nature of most women to engage in EBF, she said what many working mothers do is to opt for a pumping machine to express breast milk in bottles for as long as they will be away at work.

“The only thing lacking in this method is that, when you breastfeed a baby naturally, the mother tends to look at the baby’s face and the baby looks at the mother’s too and a close relationship is established.