At Ask The Paediatricians Foundation, we're regularly bombarded with questions from anxious mothers who want to know how to care for their babies and feed them as they resume work soon. They say they cannot continue exclusive breastfeeding for six months because they are about to go back to work. We field these questions on our Facebook group from mothers whose babies are as young as 5- weeks old!!! 

This is a serious issue as the well-being of these children is at great risk and explains why the exclusive breastfeeding rate for the country was a mere 29% in 2018!! 

Facts to know

•  Nigeria recorded the highest number of deaths of children under the age of five in 2019.
•  About one million Nigerian children under the age of 5 die from largely preventable and treatable conditions.
• One of the well-known child survival strategies that can reduce more than 75% of these deaths is breastfeeding. 

While WHO and UNICEF recommend that all babies exclusively be breastfed in the first six months. But working mothers in Nigeria have to go back to work too early and cannot complete the recommended six months of exclusive breastfeeding. Suppose we as a nation must reduce the high rate of deaths of children under the age of 1. In that case, we must be serious about ensuring mothers are breastfeeding exclusively.

Mothers need sufficient time to heal after the stress of childbirth and to exclusively breastfeed their babies for 6 months- which translates to benefits for the children and the family, the state, and the nation. We as a Nation MUST invest in the health of our mothers and the children who are our future. They guarantee the continuity of our nations.

Our demands

Currently, only 4 states- Lagos, Ekiti, Kaduna, and Oyo- out of 36 states and the Federal capital territory have the 6 months maternity leave policy. We are asking for this policy to be implemented in all states of the federation and at the federal level. Therefore, we are calling on President Mohammadu Buhari and all the State governors in Nigeria to give working mothers 6 months of maternity leave to breastfeed without work worries. We are specifically asking for this policy to be implemented for federal government staff.

We ask you to sign this petition to get the Presidency to approve and implement 6 months of maternity leave for mothers in the federal civil service. The Federal government set a good example to states and the private sector by leading with this policy. Join us by sharing and signing this petition. Thank you for supporting us in protecting breastfeeding.

At Ask The Paediatricians Foundation, we are on a mission to reduce the high rate of preventable deaths of children in Nigeria in line with the sustainable development goal 3.