In celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, Lenmed Private Hospital’s unit manager Ntaoleng Mazini spoke about the importance of breastfeeding.
Mazini has been working in unit management, finances and human resources for about 40 years and wanted to share her knowledge about breastfeeding.
From August 1 to August 7, Breastfeeding Week will be celebrated by many, and therefore Mazini decided to share the impact, advantages, and disadvantages of breastfeeding.
“Breastfeeding awareness is important because it creates an educational opportunity for mothers and healthcare workers. It also adds support for breastfeeding mothers and increases the rate of breastfeeding mothers,” she expressed.
She stated that breastfeeding is an important process that harbours many advantages after giving birth. She explained that not only is breastfeeding the healthiest nutrition resource for a baby but also carries antibodies and does not need to be warmed. Since the milk is heated by the mother’s body temperature, load-shedding does not affect breastfeeding. She added that it is also more cost-effective.
Even though breastfeeding has natural benefits for both the mother and baby, it may also have disadvantages. Mazini expressed a breastfeeding woman might develop mastitis which is the swelling of breast tissue that can involve infection.
She added some medical diagnoses might impede breastfeeding, such as elevated viral load and babies with galactosemia. Breastfeeding can also have negative effects on a woman’s body, according to Mazini. Some of these effects include breast engorgement, sore/ cracked nipples and breast milk leakage.
Furthermore, women who tend to smoke or drink high amounts of caffeine or alcohol can damage their baby’s health when breastfeeding.
“When breastfeeding it is important to feed on demand, sit in the correct posture, use the correct latching, and increase hydration,” she said.
According to her, roughly 5% to 10% of breastfeeding women suffer from disadvantages due to breastfeeding. She added it is important to note that children should only be breastfed up until the age of two years old.
