BREASTFEEDING IS ESSENTIAL FOR FORGING A BOND BETWEEN MOTHER AND CHILD

Basseterre, St. Kitts, August 16, 2019 (SKNIS): Breastfeeding is said to be extremely essential for forging a bong between mother and child, and has several benefits, not only for the baby but for the overall health of the mother.

This was according to officials who appeared on ‘Working for You’ on Wednesday, August 14, to engage the public on the importance of improving on breastfeeding, the benefits of breastfeeding to mother, baby, community and workplace, and other pertinent issues relating to breastfeeding.

“The benefit of breastfeeding to the mom is that it controls the post-delivery bleeding and so if that is controlled, she probably [would not] end up with anemia which is a low blood hemoglobin count due to excessive bleeding. So that is one of the major benefits,” said Nurse Jacquelin Duncan, Assistant Nurse Manager of the Maternity Unit, adding that another benefit is the “delay of a next pregnancy once the mother breastfeeds exclusively.”

Nurse Duncan added that breastfeeding can improve maternal-infant bonding, especially in the first few weeks. It is also a perfect opportunity for both baby and mother to get to know one another.

“There is emotional bonding on behalf of the baby and the mom,” she said. “Breastfeeding needs no preparation, no expense. The mom just breastfeeds, the baby is satisfied, and all is well.  And it helps the mom to lose weight and to control her weight as well.”

The topic on breastfeeding came at an opportune time when St. Kitts and Nevis is set to observe Breastfeeding Week from Sunday, August 18, to Saturday, August 24 under the theme ‘Protect Breastfeeding in the Workplace’.

According to information from https://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/, World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) is a global network of individuals and organisations dedicated to the protection, promotion and support of breastfeeding worldwide. Annually, WABA coordinates and organises the World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) between August 01-07. Since 2016, WABA has aligned its WBW campaign to United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which is called the WBW-SDGs Campaign.

Information from http://waba.org.my/ further states that optimal breastfeeding is vital to the lifelong good health and wellbeing of women and children.