As part of efforts to enhance the wellbeing of mother and child, Stakeholders in Niger State have called on the state government to extend the three months maternity leave to six with pay to breast feeding mothers.
The call was made by different speakers at the Stakeholders Consultative Forum on six months paid maternity leave for working mothers organized by the Niger State Government in collaboration with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) in Minna.
In her welcome address, the Permanent Secretary and Chairperson, State Committee for Food and Nutrition, Hajia Ramatu Umar said exclusive breastfeeding is essential as it saves lives, improves mother and child’s health.
According to her “there are so many benefits that are accrued and one of them is that it will boost intelligence and lifelong productivity.
“I want us to know that, exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months for a child without water, infant formula or any other liquid or food maximizes these benefits”.
She added that the six months maternity leave will improve the mother/infant mental and physical health, benefitting them and the families.
The Team Lead, Niger State UNICEF, Grace Odeyemi during her goodwill message said an exclusively breastfed child is 14 times less likely to die in the first year than the non breastfed child.
According to her “we want family friendly workplace policy such as maternity leave, breastfeeding breaks and a good room space where mothers can breastfeed their children”.
In their separate discussions on the benefit of six months paid maternity leave, discussants explained that the government needs to put in place a support system that would ensure that work or any form of employment does not separate nursing mothers from their babies.
In her remarks, the State Nutrition Officer Hajia Asmau Abubakar while disclosing that breast milk antibodies help protect a baby from illness said the breast milk provides a baby with the ideal nutrition and supports growth and development.
