Breastfeeding sometimes prevents fights between the parents of a child. This was a sentiment shared by Busisiwe Shange, who is still breastfeeding her 18-month-old child.
Shange was speaking at a workshop at the Gamalakhe Community Health Centre during World Breastfeeding Week last week.
She said that not asking the father of your child for money for powdered milk minimises fights and frustrations between parents.
World Breastfeeding Week is observed annually in the first week of August, with the 2024 theme being Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.
Shange said it was not easy raising a child who relies on breast milk.
As a mother, she said, you will need support from the father of your child and the rest of the family.
“It was not hard for me to get support because I was lucky enough to have a baby with someone who grew up as the only child in his family. So, he and his whole family were excited and eagerly waiting for my child to be born,” explained Shange.
She added that her daughter, Ahlengwe, started with bottled milk.
“After a week, she wanted only breastmilk, so I stopped giving her powdered milk. Now she says it out loud, ‘Mama, I want incence yami’ (breast milk),” she said.
Shange also emphasised the importance of eating well as a breastfeeding mother.
Meanwhile, Gamalakhe Community Health Centre’s Matron Thembisa Nxokweni said breastmilk strengthens the baby’s body.
She said a child who is fed breastmilk does not fall ill easily.
She added that with breastfeeding, you do not need to prepare any bottles.
“You just feed the baby. Breastfeeding also saves money. For the campaign, we are focusing on young mothers because they generally do not have enough information on how to raise children. They also lack support,” she said.
She added that they also targeted grandmothers and fathers to educate them on how they can support young breastfeeding mothers.
“For World Breastfeeding Week, we celebrate breastfeeding mothers in all their diversity throughout their journeys while showcasing ways families, society, communities and health workers can have the back of every breastfeeding mother,” said Nxokweni.
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