Nutrition is the branch of science that deals with nutrients and nutrition, particularly in humans. It is also a process of providing or obtaining the food necessary for healthy living and body growth. As the National Breastfeeding Week concludes, nutritionists in the health sector urged lactating mothers to eat right to produce milk that is healthy for both baby and mother. Emmanuel Sesay is Community Health Assistant and Lillian Lahai is midwife attendant at the Council of Churches in Sierra Leone (CCSL) Community Clinic. They say clinic day for lactating mothers is every Thursday and Friday, when lactating mothers receive simple sensitisation messages through songs and personal testimonies on how to prepare and eat simple but nutritious diets.
Baby Kallon resides at Congo market community around Brookfields, and is mother of 5 month old James Kallon. She said attending clinic has proved worthwhile, noting that young James is healthy and strong and feeds 100% on breast milk. “I started attending antenatal health service here at this centre and I learnt a lot about pregnancy as well as being a mother.” She added that simple but highly nutritional foods including fruits are important for both baby and mother’s wellbeing, noting that when a pregnant woman is healthy the unborn baby is also healthy, from the nutrients s/he receives from the mother.
“The simple foods that we are taught to prepare during pregnancy and after childbirth are rich in iron, carbohydrates and protein, which helps both mother and child to grow.” Nutrition is a science that interprets the interaction of nutrients and other substances in food in relation to maintenance, growth, reproduction, health and diseases in an organism. This is why it is important to eat right to get the nutrients responsible for healthy living. Lillian Lahai, retired certified midwife now in-charge at the CCSL community clinic, said it’s important for pregnant women and lactating mothers to pay regular visits to a health facility in their locality, where they will get the right information during and after pregnancy.
She said last week the country joined the world to promote exclusive breastfeeding, the all-natural nutrient responsible for a baby’s survival for the first six months of life. Lahai added that ‘pemahun’ is a simple local food made from greens, palm oil, groundnut, sesame seeds, pepper, onions and fish, when prepared is highly nutritional and cost effective for those who cannot afford much. During antenatal days, Thursday and Friday, she noted that pregnant women and lactating mothers are educated on the benefits of eating right and exclusive breastfeeding, which enhances growth for baby and mother.
According to midwives at the National School of Midwifery, a woman’s breast cannot produce enough milk if she is not healthy, adding she only needs a simple diet to make her healthy so her baby can benefit six months of exclusive mother’s milk. Mariatu Conteh, a petty trader and a lactating mother, shared her experience: “Apart from growing strong and healthy, nutrition from the mother’s milk increases the bond between mother and child, which makes the baby more comfortable with feeding. Breast milk cannot be bought anywhere and is completely different from the many baby formulas in the market.”
She said because she is a businesswoman, she mixes breast milk with baby formula, but found out that the baby formula was not right for her baby, and had to strictly stick with breast milk, which is economical. At the King Harman road government health facility for women and children, pediatric nurse Hawa Momoh said before the start of the breastfeeding campaign on 1st August, health workers did community visits (despite COVID), and educated pregnant women and lactating mothers at the facility on the need to eat healthy foods for their survival, reproductive health and growth.
She disclosed that when a woman is healthy she will be able to breastfeed her child without any complications, which also reduces the risk of breast cancer among women. Meanwhile, fathers who accompanied their spouses to the facility were commended for doing so, as they also have a role to play during pregnancy and after child birth. AC/13/08/2020
By Ade Campbell