By Oluwagbenga Bankole
Nutritionists and
paediatricians have revealed that water drinking is not necessary for babies in
their first six months when they are undergoing exclusive breastfeeding.
The experts, which
included Professor (Mrs) Ngozi Nnam, the President of the Nutrition Society of
Nigeria (NSN), Dr, Ngozi Ibeziako, President of the Paediatric Association of
Nigeria (PAN), Mrs. Stella Umunna, a
retired Deputy Director/ Head of Nursing at Iyi-Enu Mission Hospital in Anambra
State and Dr. Patrick Eze, former National President, National Association of
Nigeria Nurses and Midwives (NANNM), made the declaration at a one-day symposium
organised by Promasidor Nigeria Limited on Tuesday in Enugu. The theme of the
symposium was ‘The Nutrition Wisdom of Infant Feeding Choices”.
They also encouraged that
women should be supported by their husbands, mothers-in-laws, government and
the society in general to exclusively breastfeed their babies in the first six
months and to apply wisdom in introducing alternatives afterwards.
While harping on the need
for massive enlightenment campaigns for women and their husbands on the
importance of breastfeeding, Mrs. Stella Umunna said, “they should be made to
understand that Water is not necessary when a child is being exclusively
breastfed in the first six months.
Her position was
supported by Dr, Ngozi Ibeziako, who stated that parents should understand that
80 percent of breast milk is water. She also appealed to health workers to
assist in informing women on the benefits of breastfeeding while also
advocating for baby-friendly hospitals and work places.
Delivering the lead paper
earlier, Prof. Nnam averred that breastfeeding (exclusive breastfeeding)
is a complete nutritional source for infants for the first six months of life
because breast milk contains all the essential nutrients, bio-active compounds
and anti-infective factors needed by the infant for the first six months of
life.
Her words, “Human milk
contains water, fat, proteins, carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, some hormones,
enzymes, growth factors, essential fatty acids and immunological factors that
play vital roles for adequate development and growth of the infant”.
According to her, the
nutrients contained in breast milk are adequate in quantity and quality to promote
optimal growth and development of infants. She explained that composition of
breast milk has been designed by nature to provide all the nutrient needs of
the infant, make for easy digestion and assimilation by infants.
In his welcome address,
Mr. Kachi Onubogu, Commercial Director, Promasidor Nigeria said the company
produces quality and affordable nutritional products that are good for all
categories of people. He also stated that the company was organising the event
because it wants Nigerian children to be well nourished and strong.
It would be recalled that
the first edition of the symposium took place in Lagos about a month ago.
0 comments:
Post a Comment