The wife of the Oyo State governor, Mrs Tamunominini Makinde, has encouraged nursing mothers in the state to exclusively breastfeed their babies in the first six months to ensure optimal growth and good health.
Mrs Makinde, who said this in commemoration of World Breastfeeding Week, which begins on Tuesday, said her office would collaborate with the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum to sensitise nursing mothers to the need to imbibe the culture of exclusive breastfeeding for babies because of its inherent benefits.
A statement from the Office of the Wife of the Governor indicated that Mrs Makinde stressed the importance of a minimum of six months of exclusive breastfeeding: “Breast milk provides the best nutrition for babies because it has the right amount of nutrients. It is easily digested and is readily available.”
Mrs Makinde equally lauded the Oyo State government for approving six months of maternity leave with pay for nursing mothers in the state.
She charged private organisations and other employers in the state to follow in the footsteps of the state government. To ensure the well-being of infants, she approved six months of maternity leave with pay for all nursing mothers in their employment.
The Governor’s wife noted that the difficulty associated with babies in the first six months of life is reduced when mothers stay close to their babies during that period.
She also stated that the government has a crèche at the Oyo State Secretariat Complex and some other government offices within and outside the State Secretariat to make life easier for working nursing mothers in the state.
Mrs Makinde thus enjoined employers to do the same for their female staff so that it would be easy for them to care for their babies while at work.
According to the statement, another feature of World Breastfeeding Week is sensitizing Nigerians to the importance of home and school gardening, which is part of the federal government’s Operation Feed Yourself initiative.
Mrs Makinde then encouraged all Nigerians to use home and school gardening to combat the country’s food shortage.
