“Husbands should desist from dragging breasts with babies” – Health Minister

Health Minister, Prof. Isaac Adewole has urged husbands to desist from dragging breasts with their babies, because of the health benefits of breastmilk in infants.

The minister said babies who are not well breastfed will become unproductive jesters.

He said he was working with the Ministry of Labour and Employment to extend maternity leave from the current four months to six so that mothers can have enough time to properly breastfeed their babies.

“What has been shown clearly is that the brain, which we actually need to drive everything we do in life, is sorted out in the first two years. So, if you give the baby good food, good protein, we will have good workers and good leaders in the future,” he said, at the inauguration of the 2018 World Breastfeeding Week and High Level Policy Dialogue on Breastfeeding in Abuja on Thursday.

“But if we don’t give them good food, then we will have a generation of jesters over the years and that is not what we want in this country. So, breastfeeding is a national investment in the cerebral architecture of our citizens and in the future development of our country.

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“So, let us work together to promote it. To the men, please allow the women to give it to the babies. Don’t share or compete with the babies. Only promote it. To the women, I know you love us but don’t give it to us, give it to the babies.

“Now we have four months of maternity leave but we are working with labour to increase it to six so that there will be no excuse because if you have six months, there is no excuse,” he said.