The wife of the Oyo state governor, Mrs Tamunomini Makinde, has advised nursing mothers in the state to adopt exclusive breastfeeding for their babies in the first six months to ensure strong growth and good health.
Mrs. Makinde, said this in an event of the World Breastfeeding Week, which takes off on Tuesday.
According to her, her office would be working with the Nigerian Governors’ Wives Forum to educate nursing mothers on the need for them to imbibe the culture of exclusive breastfeeding for babies because of the benefits in it.
However, Mrs Makinde stressed the importance of a minimum of six months exclusive breastfeeding, that breast milk provides best nutrition for babies because it has the right amount of nutrient.
Mrs. Makinde equally lauded the Oyo State government for approving six months maternity leave with pay for nursing mothers in the state.
She charged private organizations and other employers in the state to follow the footsteps of the State government by approving six months maternity leave with pay for all nursing mothers in their employment to ensure the wellbeing of infants.
According to the statement, another feature of the World Breastfeeding Week is sensitizing Nigerians to the importance of home and school gardening, which is part of the ‘Operation Feed Yourself’ initiative of the Federal Government.
Mrs. Makinde then encouraged all Nigerians to see home and school gardening as a tool to fight food shortage in the country.
The Governor’s wife noted that the difficulty associated with babies in the first six months of life is reduced when mothers stay close to their babies during the period.
She also stated that to make life easy for working nursing mothers in the state, the Government has a crèche at the Oyo State Secretariat Complex as well as in some other Government offices within and outside the State Secretariat.
