Follow Us on Google
From Jude Chinedu, Enugu
Wife of governor of Enugu State, Nkechinyere Mbah, has made a case for exclusive breastfeeding of babies, saying it would help children grow healthy.
She made the case during a visit to the maternity ward of the Enugu State University of Science and Technology (ESUT) Teaching Hospital, Park Lane, Enugu, where she gifted childcare items and cash to the nursing mothers and also cleared the medical bills of those, who have been in the hospital due to outstanding medical bills.
Mrs. Mbah assured that Governor Peter Mbah’s administration had already marshaled out plans to reform the health sector to make it more qualitative and affordable, adding that the governor had equally taken particular note of the need to improve quality of maternal, infant, and child healthcare in the state.
“Exclusive and extended breastfeeding is not easy, but it is something you have to do. Your baby deserves to be well breastfed. It boosts their immune system and I never really had the need to be taking children to the hospital, except for immunisation, because my babies were healthy. So, I can tell you from experience that breastfeeding really works.
So I encourage you to breastfeed our babies. Forget about people that do about two or three months of breastfeeding.”
Chief Nursing Officer, Post-Natal Ward, Rosemary Osuoji, ESUT Teaching Hospital said besides the items and cash gifts to nursing mothers, the wife of the governor also attended to the postnatal mothers, who have been discharged several weeks ago, but could not afford hospital bills due to financial constraints.
Permanent Secretary, Enugu State Ministry of Health, Dr. Ifeanyi Agujiobi, said the administration was working to increase maternity leave in the state from four to six months.
“Presently, nursing mothers are entitled to four months maternity leave, but we are currently working through the Office of the Head of Service to see if that could be increased to six months of fully paid maternity leave.”, he explained.
Chief Medical Director of ESUT Teaching Hospital, Dr. Hyacinth Onah, thanked the wife of the governor for her magnanimity and for her encouraging words to the nursing mothers, reiterating that exclusive breastfeeding makes the children healthier.
