The verdict is out: ‘There are no breast milk
substitutes but alternatives which must be safe, balanced and properly
delivered.’ Breast-feeding in infancy has been confirmed to lower the risk of
developing kidney failure, hypertension, depression, diabetes, cancer, and
other non communicable diseases in adulthood.
HEALTHCARE
practitioners have blamed the rising cases of kidney failure, hypertension and
indeed other non-communicable diseases (NCDs) in the country to poor infant
nutrition. They said exclusively breastfed infants are less likely to suffer
depression, diabetes, cancer and other degenerative diseases.
The health care practitioners including nutritionists,
dieticians, pediatricians, general practitioners, educationists and relevant
government parastatals at the 7th Nutrition Seminar hosted by Olu Akinkugbe
Wamco Nutrition Centre (OAWNC) held on Monday in Lagos said there are no
substitutes for breast milk and breast milk contains enough water to satisfy
babies requirement for the first year of life.
OAWNC is the nutrition information platform of
FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria Plc. The seminar was tagged: “Helping infants
achieve their full growth potentials: The role of nutrition.”
They, however, said infant formula could be used as an
alternative only when the mother’s milk is not ‘accessible’ and must be
delivered with spoon and plate not with bottle-feeding, which they said is
poisonous for babies.
They also said it is better to give breast milk fresh to
babies since stored breast milk must have been denatured by heat and
environmental factors before it got to the baby.
To prevent cases of babies born with congenital defects, the
experts recommend daily intake of folic acid by women of childbearing age.
Also, German researchers have found that adults are less
likely to suffer from depression if they were breast-fed as infants.
However, the amount of time a person was breast-fed has no
bearing on the severity of later depression.
The study was published last week in the journal
Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.
Guest speaker at the seminar and professor of paediatrics
from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) with specialization in
neonatology, Prof. Mattais Taiwo Chuye Egri-Okwaji, said the purpose of
nutrition is to provide appropriate nutrients in a manner, which allows each
individual to reach his/her full potential for cellular growth.
He said breast milk is a naturally well packaged food for
children and there is no way of matching it based on its formulation, its
content, its delivery and of course its ability to meet all the nutritional
needs of any infant. “So breast milk remains superior and has no equal to that
extent,” he said.
The paediatrician added: “Are there breast milk substitutes?
The word substitutes make it clear that there is no such thing. However, in
circumstances of babies who cannot access mother’s milk, there must be
alternative ways of feeding them. Various formulae have been prepared to
approximate and provide enough to meet their nutritional needs but no one of
them even, however, specialized as they might have been have met the
composition as it is of breast milk.
“So there are possibilities and people will tell you there
is an ongoing research in meeting some of these requirements but there no in
the strict sense of the word breast milk substitutes but there are formulae
that can be given in lieu of breast milk.”
But Managing Director of FrieslandCampina WAMCO Nigeria PLC
and West Africa, Mr. Peter Eshikena, said that the level of
breastfeeding in Nigeria is 13 to 17 per cent,
which is very low. Therefore, he said, you still have 87 per cent of children
out there who really need good nutrition of breast milk for many reasons:
either the mothers are working; illnesses or whatever.
“So for these categories of children their parents must have
adequate information on how best to address their nutritional needs and that is
the essence of this seminar,” he said.
Eshikena further explained: “We initiated a means of
communicating the benefits of nutrition to children a couple of years ago when
we started the child nutrition centre and every year we have this kind of forum
especially where we disseminate information to help mothers and healthcare
practitioners to select the best options for children.
“The seminar gives attention to the importance of making
informed food choices for proper development of infants. This is in line with
the focus of the centre to deliver quality nutrition information to the
Nigerian public and contribute to the social and healthy development of Nigeria through relevant
nutrition initiatives.”
Corporate Affairs Manager FrieslandCampina WAMCO, Ore
Famurewa, said the dairy nutrition company and makers of premium dairy
brands-Peak, Three Crowns and Friso- will continue to provide quality dairy
nutrition information and innovative products for Nigerians to enjoy at every
stage of their lives.
On the implications of poor infant, Egri-Okwaji said: “Of
course a balance should be struck in the composition of nutrients in order to
be packaged to meet the peculiar needs of an individual taking into consideration
its own state. So the babies who are small need special kinds of packaging for
their optimal growth, those who are normal size also need the packaging that will
suite them and of course those who have excessive size also need special
packaging to suite them.
“People who have known illness, diseases or anatomical
defects or physiological defects that make certain aspects of nutrient
unsuitable for them also need to be factored into the equation. There are
formulae that have been prepared to meet some of these needs. There are
adjustments in the way they are delivered in order to maximize the benefits and
these are details that experts in the fields need to worry about.”
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