TALENT Washaya (28) sits under a mango tree staring as her one-month-old baby girl suckles, contemplating whether to wean her off or to quit her job.
BY LYNETTE MANZINI
The young mother, who works at a local supermarket, has heard of the benefits of breastfeeding infants exclusively for the first six months, but has to choose between her job and breastfeeding her child. But she also has to be at work or she risks getting no income for the next five months.
It is a dilemma several other young mothers face and worsening economic prospects have not helped matters. Experts say this is compromising the health of Zimbabwe’s infants as most mothers are choosing to wean off young infants so that they can be at work.
Exclusive breastfeeding means the infants do not take anything other than their mothers’ breast milk. Not even water is allowed to be given to the baby.
“I researched a lot about the welfare of a baby on the Internet and found out the importance of exclusive breastfeeding, and that it should begin within the first hour of the child’s birth.
“Jobs are not easy to come by, so if I intend to keep my job I will be forced to introduce my daughter to solid foods and milk formula. Besides, I need the money. If I breastfeed and leave my job, both my baby and I will suffer,” said Washaya.
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Despite the tough decisions the young mother will have to make, the World Health Organisation does not support the use of formula unless there have been medical complications or other conditions such as when the mother has died before the infant reaches six months.
Asked what foods she would introduce to her baby when she returned to work, Washaya said bananas, butternut, mashed potatoes, sadza with soup, yogurt and formula. Washaya represents women who are fully aware of the need for exclusive breastfeeding, but do not go through it because of circumstances beyond their control.
However, there are some who do not follow the recommendation due to various reasons such as the fear to gain weight and developing hanging breasts. According to the Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey of 2014 Zimbabwe, 41% of infants under six months of age were exclusively breastfed.
This year’s breastfeeding awareness week — from August 1 to August 7 — ran under the theme “Breastfeeding and work: Let’s make it work”. It sought to proffer assistance in highlighting the plight of working mothers against the need to breastfeed for the first six months after an infant is born.
A breastfeeding note on the Unicef website says there are approximately 830 million female workers in the world. Many of them return to work soon after delivering babies, hence they need supportive national polices and legislation — paid maternity leave and breastfeeding breaks — to enable them to continue breastfeeding.
“There are also millions more women working in the informal, seasonal or part-time economy who face even greater barriers to breastfeeding. They need strong family and community support to manage the demands of work and breastfeeding their babies,” says the report.
The World Health Organisation also says that “many mothers who return to work abandon breastfeeding partially or completely because they do not have sufficient time, or a place to breastfeed, express and store their milk”.
It adds that mothers “need a safe, clean and private place in or near their workplace to continue breastfeeding”.
Enabling conditions at work, such as paid maternity leave, part-time work arrangements, on-site crèches, facilities for expressing and storing breast milk would help if introduced.
During a stakeholder sensitisation workshop on breastfeeding, it emerged that cement maker, Lafarge, was among the few corporates in Zimbabwe that provides a conducive environment for both mother and baby as they have set up a lactating room with the help of the Health’s ministry department of nutrition.
Lafarge’s human resources director Precious Murena said: “The room has a seat a breastfeeding mother can sit on while expressing or breastfeeding and a fridge with lockable cages for mothers to store their milk safely without fear.
“It also has a sink to wash hands and a telephone a mother can use to call home to find out how her little one is while she is expressing at work.”
