To observe this year’s World Breast Feeding Week (1st-7th August 2024) on the theme “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All”, Medical Impact-Sierra Leone (MI-SL) on Saturday 10th August 2024, organized a sensitization meeting for 20 participants (15 lactating and 5 pregnant women) at its 2 Lower Dan Street headquarters, Off Fourah Bay Road in Freetown.
In his opening statement, the Executive Manager of MI-SL, Mr. Allieu Sesay, disclosed that MI-SL is a Non-Governmental Organization complementing the efforts of the government in the health sector, and is working in Kono, Moyamba, Kambia, Port Loko and Western Area to reduce/eradicate malaria, tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, adding that they also reach out to inaccessible communities to sensitize people about health-related issues.
He continued that MI-SL is the voice of the voiceless and assured that with the availability of funds they plan to reach other parts of the country.
Resource persons, drawn from the Ministry of Health and Sanitation and other health-related institutions, urged participants to give exclusive breast milk to their children, due to its numerous advantages and rich nutrients that a child needs to grow well with a strong immune system, stressing that breastfeeding is cheap, natural, and readily available.
A midwife with twenty years’ experience revealed that breastfeeding is a strong bond between the mother and child, and appealed to participants to visit health centres once they are pregnant for a total of eight times before they deliver, do scan tests to ascertain the right position of the baby, conduct several other tests, including HIV/AIDS, before delivering to prevent various complications, and eat well.
She went on to state that pregnant women must have enough blood before they are allowed to deliver, and observed that the bond between the child and mother starts from the placenta, that a baby should be breastfed an hour after birth, underscoring that breastmilk is the first mark late for a child, She urged mothers not to throw away the yellow water from the breastmilk and that babies should be breastfed even if they are sick, as it is the right of the child to be breastfed exclusively from birth to six months, 24-hours a day and up to two years, whenever demanded by the child.
She added that lactating mothers must breastfeed with both breasts and urged them to always clean and keep their breasts decent to prevent the child from contracting sicknesses, adding that breastfeeding prevents breast cancer.
She further clarified that after exclusive breastfeeding for six months, mothers can start giving food and water to the child, affirmed that breastfeeding is a means of family planning, that exclusive breastfeeding would help reduce child deaths, and encouraged all to keep their environments clean to prevent malaria and other diseases, intimating that health workers have moved their campaign from the hospitals to communities to effect behavioural change.
One of the participants interviewed commended the organizers for the opportunity to learn about breastfeeding and other health-related issues, which knowledge, she pledged, they would replicate in their communities, and appealed for more of such sensitization campaigns in their communities.
According to MI-SL, plans are underway to continue with such programs quarterly.
Highlights of the well-attended event included the distribution of packages worth $2,000 and a token to the participants, a demonstration of how to breastfeed, the singing of the breastfeeding song, and the vote of thanks by one of the participants, Salamatu Conteh.
