This year’s World Breastfeeding Week (WBW) — marked during the first week of August — came at a time when South Africa is coming to terms with the devastating news of children in the  Eastern Cape and KwaZulu-Natal dying from severe acute malnutrition. Most shocking were reports that in January and February alone, 199 children succumbed to malnutrition in hospitals across the country.

In the face of this national nutrition crisis, WBW 2022 compels South Africans to reflect on the importance of breast milk in not only helping children survive, but also helping them to thrive. Breast milk is the most important source of nutrition after a child is born — and the only food they need for the first six months.

Yet in South Africa, the number of infants who are exclusively breastfed is just 32%, among the lowest rates in the world. Exclusive breastfeeding is the practice of feeding children breast milk only, and no solid food or water for their first six months of life.

Government has a key role to play in ensuring that breastfeeding is not only encouraged within the healthcare sector, but is also the norm in society as it is a key driver of optimal nutrition in infants and young children. 

The World Health Organisation (WHO) has set long-term global nutrition targets that require, and in turn, depend on universally prescribed breastfeeding practices. South Africa has committed to achieving these through its national health policies and planning and performance management systems. 

According to WHO guidelines, breastfeeding has fundamental health benefits for both mother and child, and several policies in place that help, protect and promote breastfeeding. These include the International Labour Organisation’s Maternity Protection Convention, which promotes extra days being added to maternity leave and the adoption of the WHO International Code of Marketing of Breastmilk Substitutes.

It also promotes the provision of supportive health services with infant and young child feeding counselling during all points of contact with caregivers and young children, such as during antenatal and postnatal care, well-child and sick child visits, and immunisations.

South African laws

South Africa’s laws protect the mother’s right to breastfeed in the workplace. 

The Code of Good Practice on the Protection of Employees during Pregnancy and after the Birth of a Child guarantees breaks for breastfeeding moms. This means that all women who are returning to work can take up to two 30-minute breaks every day for breastfeeding or expressing purposes, until their child is six months old. 

These are important tools we can use to help secure bright futures for the next generation, and more South African employers should be taking the lead, particularly if one considers the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to the economy. Breastfed babies are healthier and smarter and workplaces who support moms to breastfeed exclusively have more loyal employees.

The importance of breastfeeding cannot be overstated. Breast milk is a critical building block for children’s growth and brain development. Breastfeeding helps lower the risk of childhood obesity and, importantly, reduces the chances of death from diarrhoea.

The benefits of breastfeeding extend to mothers as well. Breastfeeding has been known to reduce the risk of breast and ovarian cancer. 

However, successful exclusive breastfeeding can be made difficult by certain factors at home or at work. Identifying and overcoming these barriers can help bring about breastfeeding-friendly environments.

Families and communities are great support systems and play a vital role in successful exclusive breastfeeding when they acquaint themselves with the needs of breastfeeding mothers by creating an environment for breastfeeding and having access to nutritious food. 

Some family members may feel the need to introduce solid foods, tea or water to babies before six months, believing that a child is not getting enough nutrition from breastmilk alone. This can be harmful, though, as they are not yet physically ready to process water or solids at that stage. In this regard, family members can play a helpful role by refraining from this and instead encouraging mothers to breastfeed exclusively. 

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What can the government do?

The theme of this year’s WBW is, “Step up for breastfeeding: educate and support”, and the objective is to “protect, promote and support breastfeeding across different levels of society”. If our society is to ensure that children grow up healthy, we will need to see to it that breastfeeding is promoted and supported.

Minister of Health Joe Phaahla. (Photo: Gallo Images / Luba Lesolle)

We therefore call on Health Minister Joe Phaahla to publicly acknowledge companies that have successfully introduced breastfeeding rooms as a way of encouraging continuous breastfeeding and nutrition in the early stages of a child’s life.     

Government needs to take the issue of child malnutrition and stunting seriously by putting malnutrition on the agenda as a means of paving the way forward to get to zero stunting. 

Breastfeeding is a pivotal nutritional investment that benefits communities, companies and our entire society. Now is the time to support it. DM/MC 

Dudu Maziya is the Head of Communications at the Grow Great Campaign. Ofentse Mboweni is the Communications Officer at the Grow Great Campaign.