……..Encourages Mothers to breastfeed Babies
IPNEWS: Bong County District#6 Representative Moima Briggs-Mensah says breastfeeding is very cardinal to the growth of babies.
The Bong County Lawmaker appearing on Liberia National Television Wednesday says Breast milk helps keep babies healthy.
Hon. Briggs-Mensah says breast milk supplies all the necessary nutrients in the proper proportions. It protects against allergies, sickness, and obesity. It protects against diseases, like diabetes and cancer. It protects against infections, like ear infections.
She further mentioned that breast milk is easily digested – no constipation, diarrhea or upset stomach. Babies have healthier weights as they grow.
Recently, the House of Representatives unanimously passed a bill requiring mothers to breastfeed their children until they are six months old, saying the bill aimed to make breastfeeding ‘a duty and not an option for able mothers.
Hon. Mensah, who is a strong advocate for women and Children in the 54th Legislature defended her colleagues for the passage of bill and says it will benefit the Country.
In her capacity as the Co-Chair of the Women Legislative Caucus of Liberia Hon. Mensah added that the bill’s primary goal is to protect and promote breastfeeding, as mothers are inundated with incorrect and biased information through advertising and unsubstantiated health claims.
She encouraged women both in the urban and rural parts of the Country to breastfeed their babies for healthy growth.
The costs of not breastfeeding are enormous, and it costs Liberia US$200,000 annually to treat children with diarrhea and pneumonia and type II diabetes in mothers that visit health facilities due to inadequate breastfeeding, according to the UNICEF report
