A mother breastfeeding her baby
Nestlé Ghana as part of the World Breastfeeding Week has rolled out an initiative to help mothers exclusively breastfeed their babies at least for the first six months of life.
Through the company’s ‘Nestlé Start Healthy Stay Healthy Super Babies’ initiative which demonstrates that breast milk is the best food for newborns, family members are encouraged to support breastfeeding mothers.
Nestlé has also launched a fun Superbabies music video on Facebook and YouTube, together with Facebook posts using the hashtags #HelpMomsBreastfeed and #SupportAfricasFuture to generate social media support for exclusive breastfeeding.
A release by Nestlé Central and West Africa Region Corporate Communication and Public Affairs Department indicates that it is only when breastfeeding is not possible that infant formula – the only breast milk substitute recognised by the WHO – plays a vital role in providing essential nutrients to infants.
“In Central and West Africa, we aim to endorse and encourage breastfeeding in the first 1,000 days of life, support breastfeeding mothers in the workplace, and provide education programmes for good nutrition and feeding practices.
“This is why we support and promote the World Health Organization’s (WHO) recommendation of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of life, followed by the introduction of nutritious and appropriate complementary foods, along with sustained breastfeeding, up to two years of age and beyond,” the release said.
Each year, Nestlé brings together paediatricians from all over the region to the CWAR Advanced Nutrition Workshop (CANUP) to share resources and research based on scientific data, and provide training on maternal and child nutrition.
This is led by the Nestlé Nutrition Institute Africa (NNIA), which is part of the Nestlé Nutrition Institute, the world’s largest publisher of nutritional information.
“Since 2010, we’ve partnered with the Ministry of Health in Cameroon to improve maternal and infant nutrition by organising medical education sessions for healthcare professionals on breastfeeding,” it added.
By Jamila Akweley Okertchiri