Lagos State Commissioner for Information, Steve Ayorinde, has stated clearly why husbands should stop sucking nursing mothers’ breasts.
In a message to a Breastfeeding Awareness Campaign organised by the Lagos chapter of the Nigeria Association of Women Journalists (NAWOJ), he said this would allow their babies enjoy the period of breastfeeding.
The commissioner, represented by Mrs. Toro Oladapo, a former NAWOJ President and Director, Public Affairs, Lagos Ministry of Information, said fathers should stop competing for breasts with their babies.
He stated that rather, men should encourage their wives to engage in exclusive breastfeeding, which is vital during the first six months of life.
“Nothing is natural like breast milk,” he said, noting that human milk is better for babies than animal milk. Thank you so much for promoting the essence of womanhood. The media should help ensure mothers are breastfeeding to raise a healthy nation.
“You will all agree with me that children that are breastfed distinguish themselves academically,’’ he said.
The commissioner said that women, in the past, used breastfeeding for child-spacing and family planning, urging NAWOJ to spread the awareness.
Recall that experts have decried the low compliance with exclusive by nursing mothers in Nigeria.
The breastfeeding awareness week is an annual event, which holds between August 1st and 7th.
The theme of the 2017 week is: “Sustaining breastfeeding together”, aimed at encouraging husbands to support their wives as they play a key role in sustaining exclusive breastfeeding.
The week is celebrated by over 170 countries around the world to commemorate the Innocent Declaration signed in August 1990 by government policy makers, WHO, UNICEF and other organization around top world, to protect, promote and support breastfeeding.
