Proper breastfeeding can save over 820,000 children yearly, says don
05 October 2023 |
2:07 am
A Professor of Pediatrics, University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Agozie Chukwunedum Ubesie, has said that over 820,000 children, under age five, could be saved every year if optimally breastfed.
A Professor of Pediatrics, the University of Nigeria Nsukka (UNN), Agozie Chukwunedum Ubesie, has said that over 820,000 children, under age five, could be saved every year if optimally breastfed.
He listed optimal breastfeeding to include breastfeeding within an hour of birth, breastfeeding exclusively for up to six months of age, and continuing to breastfeed a child up to two years of age.
Delivering the 191st inaugural lecture of the university on the topic, ‘The Burden Of Childhood Malnutrition And The Bane Of A Developing Economy: Breaking The Barriers Of Ending A Cycle,’ Ubesie stated that optimal breastfeeding improves the intelligent quotient of the child. He noted that this is associated with higher income in adult life and should be supported, protected and promoted at the family and community levels.
Ubesie, who noted that exclusive breastfeeding protects children against childhood infections, as well as reduces the risk of obesity later in life, identified low exclusive breastfeeding as one of the major barriers to adequate child nutrition.
He lamented, however, that despite its benefits, the rate had remained low with the current rate in Nigeria put at about 37 per cent; (while a study reported 26 per cent), saying the figure is below the 50 per cent target of the World Health Organisation (WHO) by 2025.
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