By Etop Ekanem

In commemoration of World Breastfeeding Week, Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club, Lions Club International District 404A3 has created awareness on the importance of breastfeeding.

The event, which took place last Tuesday at Sura Primary Health Centre, Simpson Street,. Lagos Island, witnessed the distribution of baby items and cash to no fewer than 100 nursing mothers at the health centre
Speaking at the event, with the theme, “Breastfeeding: A fundamental rights,” President of Lagos Ikoyi Lions Club, Lion Pat Marcus-Jinadu, said Lions Club is where humanity and humanitarian services are rendered, adding: “So we decided to come and show kindness to people that are breastfeeding and to let them know and have knowledge of breastfeeding.”

She enumerated baby items given to the nursing mothers to include pampers, detergents, soaps, powder, among others.

Marcus-Jinadu listed the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding to include healthy growth of the baby; breastfeeding creates a bond between mother and her child.

Also speaking, Chief Nursing Officer in charge of Sura Primary Health Centre, Cecelia Odunola Ayomide said exclusive breastfeeding of babies for the first six months of their birth will go a long way in saving the infants from illness that attacks babies while growing up.

She advised nursing mothers to always breastfeed their children, adding: “Breastfeeding does not cause breasts to sag; pregnancy and the subsequent changes in breast size and weight are the primary factors. While breastfeeding can cause breasts to change shape and size, the act of breastfeeding itself doesn’t lead to sagging. Whether mothers breastfeed their babies or not, their breasts will certainly sag someday.”