“Breastfeeding reduces the risk of breast cancer. Infants exclusively breastfeeding for 4 months are less likely to develop asthma than those not breastfed or breastfed for shorter durations. And there is a decreased risk of development of obesity and of poorer cardiovascular health in late adolescence. Thus breastfeeding is pivotal in any policy push that is geared toward improving the health of mothers and babies”, Kenya’s Minister for Public Health and Sanitation Mrs Beth Mugo has said.
“Breastfeeding provides a complete nutritional and preventive health package for infants and young children, and is one of the most sustainable practices found on this earth,” Mrs Mugo said in a media conference at Nairobi, Kenya.
She pointed out that breastfeeding is also important for women – assisting in weight loss after delivery, protecting against breast cancer and other diseases, and delaying the return of menses and ovulation.
Breastfeeding is now a right spelled out in the Kenyan constitution, the Minister said, adding that campaigns such as World Breastfeeding Week, Malezi Bora, Ya Yama ya Mamba, and other health policies in the country inform mothers that breastfeeding is possible.
Minister Mugo asked everyone in Kenya to reach out, through any and all communication channels open, and share the messages needed to empower every woman and every community, to succeed in optimising the practice of breastfeeding.
