World Breastfeeding Day: Support to Pregnant and Nursing Mothers

World Breastfeeding Day: Support to Pregnant and Nursing Mothers

The J&A Oben Foundation has supported some breastfeeding mothers and pregnant women in Yaoundé. The exercise was aimed at motivating nursing mothers in their breastfeeding journey and to encourage pregnant women to breastfeed exclusively for at least six months. This activity took place during the World Breastfeeding Week 2024 at the Presbyterian Health Complex Yaoundé, Cameroon.

The event was an open exchange between pregnant and nursing mothers with experts from the J&A Oben Foundation. The women were allowed to express the common challenges they encountered during breastfeeding. Top on the list of breastfeeding challenges was how to manage breastfeeding as a working mom.

Encouraging the women, Mrs. Arrey Crista said that it is very possible to breastfeed exclusively, even as a working mother. “You can begin breast milk extraction and storage 1 to 2 weeks before you return to work so that the baby can have enough to consume when you are not around," Mrs. Arrey said. “All you need to do is store the milk in recommended cups with covers or storage bags and preserve it in the refrigerator.” She added that breast milk can be stored at room temperature for 7 hours, in the refrigerator for 7 days, and up to 7 months in the freezer. However, she admonished the women to smell and taste the breast milk before feeding a baby.

Speaking on how to prepare the milk, Mrs. Arrey advised that for babies who prefer warm milk, the milk bottle should be placed in hot water until the milk is no longer cold. “Do not warm milk with direct heat from the fire or microwave,” she said. “To avoid contamination and especially avoid bacteria building up around the cover area, children should be fed with spoons rather than drinking from bottles directly,” she added. “Make sure your breast milk extractors, storage bottles, and feeding cups and spoons are properly washed and heated in a boiler for disinfection,” she said.

She also encouraged working mothers whose offices permit breastfeeding at work to take their babies to work. “If you work in an organization where you are allowed to breastfeed, you would not need to extract breast milk, which may avoid any forms of contamination to your children.

Mrs. Arrey also sensitized mothers on the best complementary foods to give children after the recommended minimum 6-months breastfeeding period. She also presented the different daily meal plans and food quantities to be given to children based on their ages.

The outreach was also used to sensitize pregnant women on the types of foods to eat during pregnancy and breastfeeding for their general wellness. They were also given factsheets that outlined the importance of breastfeeding.

At the end of the event, the J&A Oben Foundation provided breastfeeding kits to the women to help facilitate the breastfeeding process.