Breastfeeding is every child’s right and every mother’s responsibility. It is the joy of every mother to see that their babies are adequately breastfed and enjoy every benefit that comes with it including, an established immune system and significant growth.
According to the World Health Organisation, a child should be breastfed exclusively for six months before being introduced to food.
However, breastfeeding has its own share of challenges. Immediately after childbirth, women often experience painful breasts and cracked nipples, which can make breastfeeding difficult. For working mothers, returning to work after about three months can be challenging, as they must leave their baby behind.
This situation entails additional costs, such as purchasing a breast pump and storage facilities for expressed milk, which can be expensive. Baby formula costs are also high, prompting some mothers to wean their babies as early as one month due to financial constraints.
Breastfeeding mothers face the risk of developing mastitis if they are unable to breastfeed or express milk regularly at work, particularly in workplaces lacking facilities for breastfeeding. Reduced milk production due to irregular breastfeeding can weaken the baby’s immunity and force early weaning.
Poverty exacerbates these challenges, especially for teenage mothers lacking support from family or the child’s father. A balanced diet is essential for milk production, but without support, it can be difficult to maintain.
Breast enlargement during breastfeeding can also make bras uncomfortable and reduce milk production.
Breastfeeding mothers need a peaceful environment for themselves and their baby. Teenage pregnancies, often accompanied by forced marriages, can create stressful environments that further impact milk production.
Adolescent motherhood is fraught with difficulties, including family abandonment and societal stigma. Some teenage mothers face early marriages or abandonment, and those who return to school may experience peer stigma, affecting their self-esteem.
Nevertheless, some steps have been taken into the right direction to address challenges that working mothers face with breastfeeding. Some organisations offer immense support to breastfeeding mothers when they have to work. Nguvu Collective for instance, a social impact and advocacy organisation, has proven that mothers can still work and contribute to economic and social advancement even when they’re breastfeeding.
During the Launchpad Kenya, 2024, mothers were allowed to come in with their babies and nannies for the full board program and as intense as it was, they were given breastfeeding breaks to tend to their babies. Teach for Kenya, an NGO that I work with also takes into consideration the needs of breastfeeding mothers. During the Summer Institute, a training period for teaching Fellows, mothers were allowed to commute with commuter costs catered for, even though the program was full board. This allowed us to keep our babies breastfed as much as we were working.
The Breastfeeding Mother’s Bill, 2024 seeks to provide a legal framework for mothers who may wish to breastfeed their children at their workplace. It provides for the rights of a mother to breastfeed freely or express milk for her infant. With these and more interventions, breastfeeding mothers will feel safe and this will protect their dignity as they tend to their children.
By: Synthia Asienwa is the Founder and Director of Let’s Talk Mentors Hub and a Nguvu Changeleader. She champions for quality education, provides mentorship and leadership training to school-going children.
Sylvia Awinja is a Nguvu Changeleader who has dedicated herself to advocating for menstrual leave and sex education in schools to address teen pregnancy, gender-based violence and HIV/AIDS.
