From Okwe Obi, Abuja
In a city like the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, where most parents are looking to earn their daily bread and with no time for parenting, creches have become the last resort. From Nyanya to Kubwa, Asokoro to Lubge, Maitama to Gwarimpa, Life Camp to Lokogoma, Dei-Dei to Gwagwa, care centres are sprouting.
According to the Nigerian Labour Law, women are entitled to 12 weeks’ maternity leave. Six weeks are expected to be taken before the delivery, and the remaining six weeks granted after childbirth. Also, during this period, female employees are expected to receive at least 50% of their salary.
But this policy is majorly adhered to in government-owned institutions. It is not so in some private organisations because of limited manpower.
So, expectant mothers who cannot keep up with the hassle of their jobs, businesses or are unable to get their relatives or neighbours to help mind their babies resign.
It has been reported that the majority of these child care centres do not hire experienced caregivers neither are they located in serene and hygienic settings. The kids are sometimes exposed to bacteria, leading to illnesses.
Also, findings revealed that they are sometimes sedated to sleep for a long period of time when they start being restless or uncooperative, mostly in the suburbs. They are also used as bait by cartels to extort money from unsuspecting citizens through begging.
Sometime ago, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) rescued babies who were rented allegedly by their mothers to beg in Nyanya. The same insidious act played out when a centre was bursted in the Iyana-Ipaja area of Lagos State, where babies who were kept in a creche were used to beg.
Again, the costs of enrolling babies in the centres are astronomical. The age of babies determines the fees. For instance, a three-month-old baby and above is charged more than a baby that is over a year old.
An invoice obtained by this reporter from a creche along Gaduwa, Gudu, in Abuja Municipal Area Council (AMAC), showed that, for registration (one-off), the fee is N50,000, tuition daily is N3,000 while monthly bill is N60,000. This is for a baby that is less than one year old. The notice indicated that “this fee invoice is only valid for two weeks from date of collection.”
Another invoice obtained from a creche around Games Village in Galadimawa, Abuja, revealed that a new intake of one year old is expected to pay N10,000 for admission. “Other fee is N210,000.”
For a middle-class mother like Deborah Oko, who has two children and is an employee in a private establishment in Abuja, the decision to settle for a care centre was a difficult one. Her take-home pay, according to her, is nothing to write home about as a result of current economic challenges.
Regardless, she is forced to cough out N1,500 daily to pay for her six-month-old daughter in a creche somewhere in Kubwa. Every month, Oko spends between N35,000 and N50,000 for her daughter’s day care. That is because of her bargaining power and her relationship with the operator of the centre.
She said: “I pay N1,500 per day. But if you want to do monthly it is about N35,000. And that is because I negotiated. I started dropping off my baby six months after birth.”
Explaining what led her into taking her baby to a creche, she said: “It is because I do not have any helper around. I am not a full-time housewife. To the best of my knowledge, the creche is not doing badly.
“But no one can give your child 100% care that you want. You just have to live with what they can do and you make up for the child.
“It is not easy. What I do is that, since I am only entitled to three months’ maternity leave, I made an arrangement with a relative who lives in Abuja. I drop off my daughter with her, that is, after pumping enough breast milk for the period I will not be around.
“I had to get automatic breast pump to continue with exclusive breastfeeding. While at work, I am not always okay because you will know when your child is crying. Your breasts will start aching as if it is vibrating and at that point you will feel like being with your child. It is a myth, I think.
“It also shows that your breast is full and a baby needs to suck it. But what can you do? You will have to work.”
Also, she complained that the duration of three months’ maternity leave was not enough for a breastfeeding mother. She, therefore, suggested a minimum of six months to allow breastfeeding mothers tend to their babies.
“It is not enough. No time is enough for a mother and a baby. Three months is not adequate. But because of the economic situation, most mothers struggle to adjust.
“I will suggest pregnant women get six months, since they are expected to breastfeed for six months exclusively. After six months, I think the baby will be strong enough. A mother can function without much stress.”
Speaking on the health implications, she said: “Sometimes, my daughter comes back home with infections and we have to take her to the hospital for treatment because they pick things from the ground. They are exposed. That is why I suggested six months’ maternity leave for them to be strong enough.”
Faith Yahaya is also a working mother of two in Abuja. The demanding nature of her job and that of her husband made them to settle for a creche in their neighbourhood.
Unlike Oko who exposed her baby to a care centre at six months, Yahaya enrolled her three-month-old baby in a creche.
She said: “My baby was three months when I took her to a creche. I am paying N19,000 for a month. But it is structured in a way that parents can pay in instalments.”
Why the option of a creche? She said: “So that I can have time to attend to other things. I do not have a live-in househelp and I do not have anyone living with me.
“It is just my kids and I. Going to work with my son is not convenient. There was a day I went to work with my son and I could not concentrate. He disturbed and distracted me.
“So, I think keeping him in a creche is the best decision because I believe he will be in a safe hands to allow me attend to my job. I am entitled to three months’ maternity leave in my office.
“I am suggesting six months’ maternity leave for exclusive breastfeeding but because we do not have enough time, we will be looking for alternatives.
“In the case of my older son, I was able to manage it because I had people who lived with me then. I was leaving him at home with extracted breast milk. I succeeded in doing exclusive breastfeeding with him. But that was not the case with my second son, because I have no one living with me.
“So, I bought breast milk extractor for the baby so that I could extract breast milk and store in the fridge. When it is time to feed him, you just take the measurement that you need and place it in hot water. It will heat it up.”
On the health implications, she said: “The bond between mother and baby is not there. Children who are not exclusively breastfed for six months are prone to sickness.
“It is not healthy for mothers. it is also not healthy for the baby. When I am at work and my breast is so full, I find it difficult to concentrate on the job.
“The creche opens from 6am to 6pm. In my own case, I take my baby to the creche when I am leaving the house. They do not have problems. Just bring your child whenever it is convenient for you.”
Cynthia Emeka shared the sentiments of Oko and Yahaya on the work stress, taking care of her baby and the cost implications.
She said: “Honestly, it is not easy. But we just have to do it. I enrolled my baby in a care centre at exactly five months. I need to run my business.
“I do not have anybody to assist me. And I do not believe in househelps. Some of them can be very wicked. It is better I hand over my child to a trained caregiver.
“At least, I have someone to hold responsible if anything goes wrong. Initially my husband was against it. But when he saw that it was taking a toll on me, he obliged.
“And since I am a businesswoman, I can easily dash in to breastfeed my baby and return to my shop. But it is expensive. I am paying through my nose.”
A cashier in one of the first generation banks, Blessing Gyang, said she took her baby there because of the nature of her job.
She said: “My mother-in-law was assisting me to take care of my baby when I was away but, when she went back to the village, I had to enroll my baby in a creche.”
However, a father and an elder in a church, Nsikak Ekpeyong, condemned the trend. He said it would be better for his wife to resign and take care of his baby boy than for him to hand over his child to a caregiver at a tender age.
“It is unacceptable. I will not allow my children to be under the care of unknown caregivers for hours. It is risky. I have heard of stories about how some caregivers use people’s children to beg on the street.
“So, I will dedicate more time to my children to ensure that they are brought up properly. If that is not possible, I will resign. After all, we are working for the children,” he argued.
But the FCT coordinator of Christian Women for Excellence and Empowerment in Nigerian Society (CWEENS), Pastor Deborah Life-Alegbemi, advised mothers to get nannies.
“It is not advisable. The children get sedated so that they can sleep. All these have side effects on the children. I got married immediately I graduated from school in 1999. In the process of waiting for NYSC, I got married that same year.
“I got pregnant and had my baby the next year. I was posted to a school. I had to get someone to come and stay with me in the school. She stayed with me in the staff room so that I could breastfeed my baby.
“Government should give time for mothers to look after their babies. Many of these children have been abused in all these day care homes. Some women would say they do not have options, but there are options,” she said.
A nurse at Joemede Clinic and Maternity, Margaret Michael, discouraged the trend because of the child’s cognitive reasoning.
She said: “It is not advisable to take your baby at a tender age to a creche. Development of a kid starts from three to six years.
“A child needs connection with his or her mother. Some parents take their children there as early as 7am because they want to meet up with their work, especially for parents that work in offices.
“For this kind of life, there is no connection between a mother and a baby. And you do not even know what the creche does with these kids.
“Sometimes, the school exposes these kids to television, which is not good for their mental health at a tender age. A child that should be exposed to screen time should be from three years and above. At that stage, they should have developed cognitive reasoning.
“That is why, even in offices, they give you maternity leave. When a mother is breastfeeding, there is a connection between her and the baby, and the child will be trying to pick recognition. It is part of brain development. In less than six months, the child can recognise his mother’s face.
“That is why, sometimes, when another person carries the baby, it will start to cry. So, when you take a baby to the creche, you are shutting them up for that time. At that tender age, whatever you do and they see that is what they will grow up with. So, medically, it is not good.”
