The Paediatric Society of Ghana (PSG) has called for stronger stakeholder collaboration and investment to strengthen support systems for lactating mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies, to guarantee a brighter future for the nation.
Dr Hilda Mantebea Boye, the President of the Paediatric Society of Ghana, said with Exclusive Breastfeeding (EBF), mothers were to give babies only breastmilk few hours after birth until six months, when other complementary feeding could be gradually introduced, as per WHO/ UNICEF requirements.
She cited the enormous benefits of breastmilk for infants, which included optimal nutrition for proper growth, enhanced cognitive development, and prevention of upper respiratory tract infections among other childhood illnesses, especially in reducing diarrhoea by 40 per cent.
Also, EBF could prevent cancers (breast and ovarian) in women, reducing maternal mortality rates and neo-natal deaths by 50 per cent, lower post-natal depression and mental health challenges, while strengthening parental bonding with children to build emotional and psychological love for family and humanity.
