In Summary
- We believe every right thinking mother would love to suckle her baby up to that age, but job-related commitments make it impossible for most working women.
Compared to her counterpart of yesteryear,
today’s mother has much more on her hands than housekeeping. That
includes caring for the newborn. Just like dad, mum goes to work, often
spending most of the day away from her baby.
It is for this reason that breastfeeding, something that we have traditionally taken for granted, has become an issue that is being addressed at global level.
Yes, we have World Breastfeeding Week, initiated in 1991 by the World Alliance of Breastfeeding Action (WABA). It is now celebrated in over 120 countries under the auspices of the United Nations Children’s Fund and the World Health Organisation.
As we join the world in marking Breastfeeding Week, which ends on August 7, we should commit ourselves to ensuring our children are not weaned until they are at least six months old.
We believe every right thinking mother would love to suckle her baby up to that age, but job-related commitments make it impossible for most working women.
Since our labour law provides for only 84 days for maternity leave, the recommended six-month exclusive breastfeeding period is virtually out of question. Few Tanzanian mothers can afford the logistics of taking their babies to work to ensure no feeding session is skipped. If we were to view the challenge as a national issue, we believe it would be easily resolved.
The time has come for this nation to look into extending maternity leave to 240 days. This is not about pampering women, though doing that occasionally is not a bad idea. It is so that this nation’s children get the best possible start in life.
We owe it to posterity to ensure we have healthy babies. That is the only way we can be confident the Tanzania of tomorrow will be a nation steered by mentally and physically healthy adults.
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