Murang’a county on Thursday marked the World Breastfeeding Week 2024 by opening the first lactation station for working mothers at Kirwara sub-county hospital to support the breastfeeding of children born to the workers of the hospital.
The Kandara sub county director of education, Philomena Githire, speaking at the hospital grounds during the celebrations underscored the importance of breastfeeding terming it as vital to the lifelong good health and wellbeing of women and children.
She noted that the Health Act 2017 stipulates that all employers shall establish lactation stations at the work place adequately provided with necessary equipment.
“The act requires support for breastfeeding women at work, establishment of lactation stations within the workplace and provision of flexi working hours for breastfeeding women thus promoting the health and welfare of female breastfeeding workers.” Githire said.
“Today we have seen such a station here at Kirwara hospital and it will serve all the working mothers in this work place,” She added.
She called upon mothers to breastfeed as advised, noting that breastfeeding supports a healthy and productive society and infants exclusively breastfed for six months are well nourished and at a lower risk of contracting diseases.
The county nutrition coordinator, Nancy Waitherero also highlighted the importance of breastfeeding and called upon all members of the society to support breastfeeding mothers to ensure they are able to breastfeed their children as required.
She celebrated the establishment of the first lactation station in the county and called upon all other employers to establish such stations at work places to support breastfeeding in compliance with the law.
“This station is a requirement by the law and all work places employing young mothers should start allocating such spaces so as to support breastfeeding.” Waitherero said.
She also cautioned mothers against introducing animal milk to children below the age of two years.
“Even after breastfeeding exclusively for the first six months, mothers should continue breastfeeding until about two years without introducing animal milk,” she said.
Joel Mwaura of Nutrition International (NI), on his part said the station was financed through a partnership between Murang’a county government and NI.
Mwaura said the two partners have been working together through a matching fund model dubbed Domestic Resource Mobilisation with the aim of increasing financing for low-cost high impact Nutrition interventions geared towards reduction of child malnutrition in Murang’a.
By Purity Mugo
