Sometimes, new mothers give milk to their newborns instead of breastfeeding them, which makes one wonder why.
Mukakarangwa is a mother with a 2-month-old baby, using the feeding bottle by giving milk to her baby instead of breastfeeding. In an interview with mamedecine.com, she declared that from the childbirth, she didn’t have breast milk.
“I don’t feel good about giving milk to my baby instead of breastfeeding him. After I gave birth, people who visited me included the sorceress and my breast milk disappeared completely.” She said.
Patricia; an elderly woman around 65 years old also confirmed that breast milk can be taken away by witches.
“The witches really take away breast milk. In the past time, a new mother during the postpartum period wouldn’t be visited by just anyone, only be cared for by trusted people. But today, everyone come and see the new born before time. That’s where often the witches take away the breast milk.” She said.
Dr. Emmanuel Ndikuryayo, a Gynecologist at MBC Hospital, in an interview with mamedecine.com explains various reasons why a mother should lack breast milk.
He said: “Problems during childbirth that cause a mother to become weak after delivery and reduce her ability to care for the baby can lead to lactation insufficiency. For example, if a mother experiences complications during childbirth, we might need to administer blood transfusions and immediately start feeding the baby milk. In that case, it is not easy for the organism to recover and produce breast milk, because breast milk is produced when this is healthy.”
He continued: “If the new mother’s organism isn’t in good condition, whether due to illness or mental health issues faced during delivery, all of these can lead to a reduced milk supply.”
What mothers need to be cautious about
Dr. Emmanuel NDIKURYAYO further added: “Breastfeeding should be automatic for every new mother. There are no known factors that directly disturb breast milk, but it is clear that when the mother is not in good health, the milk supply decreases.”
He also advised mothers, especially those living in cities, and warned that often, those who lack breast milk may have contributed to the situation themselves.
“Stress is one of the factors that cause urban mothers to lack breast milk. There’s stress from smartphones (social media), and stress from comparing themselves with others. In the past, a new mother would stop everything to take care for her new born, paying full attention to the baby and breastfeed him. That’s when the organism would produce breast milk. Today, the mother’s brain is distracted by many things which makes it harder for the organism to produce the necessary hormones for breast milk.” He said.
The news from Rwanda Biomedical Centre (RBC) confirm that: “Breastfeeding has several benefits for the infant and mother. Breastfeeding lowers the risk for infants developing chronic conditions and also promotes intellectual and cognitive development. For mothers, breastfeeding helps to contract the uterus following birth and reduces bleeding, in addition, it helps to lower the risk for certain types of cancer.”
National Institute of Statistics of Rwanda (NISR) in its Demographic and Health survey for 2019-2020 showed that exclusive breastfeeding declines with age, from 87% and 89%, respectively, among children age 0-1 months and 2-3 months to 68% among those age 4-5 months. 0% of the children age 2-3 months were not breastfeed and this rate increased to 20% for 22-23 months.
By Fulgencie MUKAMUSONI
