LASUTH Chief Medical Director, Prof Wale Oke has urged men to stop competing with their babies to suck the wives' breast.
Speaking yesterday at the World Breastfeeding Week, the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LASUTH) Chief Medical Director, Prof. Wale Oke has urged men to stop competing with their babies to suck their wives/girlfriend's breast, and enjoined them to allow their babies enjoy their natural meal.
Oke spoke yesterday at the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW). The programme was organised by LASUTH Community Health Department in conjunction with the hospital’s Pediatrics.
According to him, the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding are many. He said:
“When a mother breastfeeds her baby, it creates bond between them. It is also a natural family mechanism as mothers cannot get pregnant. Breastfeeding mothers do not have bone diseases, breast and ovarian cancers. Working and breastfeeding can go together if mothers try because it is necessary to have healthy babies,” he said.
Wife of Lagos State Governor, Mrs Bolanle Ambode, represented by the Permanent Secretary of the state’s Civil Service Pension Office, Mrs Ademola Olabowale, urged mothers to breastfeed their babies exclusively for six months so that they can be healthy. It also helps to build the immunity for the newborns, and protects them from childhood killer diseases.
Head of Department, Community Health Dr Yetunde Kuyinu said the week would help to improve babies’ health. She said working mothers can actually breastfeed their babies.
“It is a known fact that many of our working class nursing mothers face a lot of challenges combining breastfeeding with work either at their work setting or at home. They tend to stop breastfeeding very early in the life of their babies, thus losing the dual benefits breastfeeding provides for both mother and child,” she said.
The World Breastfeeding Week programme was organised by LASUTH Community Health Department in conjunction with the hospital’s Pediatrics. It is celebrated every year from August 1-7th in more than 170 countries to encourage breastfeeding and improve the health of babies.