As a part of National Breastfeeding Week last Friday, mothers met at Noluthando Hall in Joza, to learn about breastfeeding from Nomawonga Kama, Deputy Director General of the integrated nutrition program in Bisho.
As a part of National Breastfeeding Week last Friday, mothers met at Noluthando Hall in Joza, to learn about breastfeeding from Nomawonga Kama, Deputy Director General of the integrated nutrition program in Bisho.
According to Kama, babies who are breastfed grow up to be smarter and healthier than their counterparts who are bottle-fed. This is mainly due to the host of nutrients in breast milk.
The theme for this year’s breastfeeding week was: “A vital emergency response.” Kama urged mothers to “learn from some animals like goats, cows and pigs which suckle their young and do not get milk from someone else."
She denounced bottles, pacifiers (dummies) and formula because “we do not even know where they come from.” Kama emphasised that breast milk “is always available even in cases of emergencies when there is no water to prepare a bottle.”
“I have several children who are now grown up and all of them were breast fed as they all rejected being bottle fed,” she said.
Phyllis Nomsebenzi Mnyamana, a local traditional healer, extolled the virtues of breastfeeding and said that it enhances the bond between mother and child. She stressed that “children should be breastfed for the first six months before given solid foods."
“A loved and breastfed child will also love other people,” said another mother.
