Editorial
Create conducive office space for breastfeeding mothers
For nursing women who want to nurse their newborns entirely after returning from their three-month maternity leave, a lack of work space presents a significant obstacle.
Therefore, it is excellent to designate a private, convenient and comfortable space where mothers can nurse their babies when they go back to work.
The World Health Organisation (WHO) advised breastfeeding to continue for up to two years after the first six months of life, supplemented with the right complementary foods.
When they return to work after maternity leave, many working mothers find it challenging to follow the WHO’s advice. Because of this, some working mothers are forced to start feeding their infants formula in feeding bottles at a young age, contrary to WHO’s directive.
The infant is at a significant risk of contracting an infection as a result of the unclean handling and preparation of the baby formula.
As the mothers return to work earlier to be involved in their occupations that provide them with revenue at the end of the month, it becomes harder for them to continue breastfeeding their newborns.
According to experts, breastfeeding benefits both the mother and the child since it provides all the essential nutrients in the right amounts, lowers the risk of type 2 diabetes, and guards against allergies, illness, and obesity among others.
The World Breastfeeding Week (WBW), which was held this year from August 1 to August 7 with the theme, “Making Impact with Working Parents,” urges for immediate action to support working mothers who want to breastfeed their babies.
The purpose of the annual event is to raise awareness of the value of nursing, support and promote breastfeeding, and enhance both the mother and baby’s health.
According to the WHO’s directive, this year’s theme was “breastfeeding and work.” This gave advocates a strategic chance to promote crucial maternity rights that support breastfeeding, such as maternity leave that lasts at least 18 weeks and ideally longer than six months, as well as workplace accommodations after this time.
For women to be able to breastfeed for as long as they would like to, these are significant challenges. According to the WHO, more than half a billion working mothers do not receive the most basic maternity benefits, and many more are left alone when they return to work.
There have been proposals to extend maternity leave from three to six months, but there is concern that this could cause serious issues for women because some employers might not think it necessary to hire young women out of concern that their time spent at home while on paid maternity leave will be too long.
However, studies have shown that infants who were exclusively breastfed for the first six months of life and who were fed foods with the proper balance of nutrients from six months to two years of age have a higher chance of surviving, performing better in school, and being more productive throughout their lives.
The Spectator thinks that all employers should prioritise providing nursing mothers with a comfortable work environment because doing so will be good for both the mother and the child as well as the overall business.
Mothers who continue nursing after going back to work must therefore have the support of their employers. Employers have a lot of power to foster a culture that values breastfeeding mothers.
Until the child is roughly six months old, mothers who are returning to work should be permitted to bring their infants along with a babysitter to work. The mother will be better able to concentrate on her work, feel less stressed, and perform better at work as a result.
To ensure that breastfeeding is feasible for all working mothers and to support this year’s campaign theme, “Let’s make breastfeeding and work, work!” the government must mandate that companies provide nursing mothers with office space.
Dear Editor,
I WRITE to condemn the circumstances under which an accident victim died recently after three major hospitals reportedly turned him away due to what has earned a place in our local parlance as ‘no bed syndrome.’
Reports suggested that this motor rider who got knocked by a vehicle was taken to three major hospitals – Police Hospital, Greater Accra Regional Hospital (Ridge Hospital), and the Korle-bu Teaching Hospital – but they all claimed they had no beds.
But one may ask, would there ever be beds?
Such is the treatment Ghanaians endure every now and then when one visits our hospitals, especially the public ones which are run with the taxpayers’ money. Many a time when one visits the hospitals, the sight of patients admitted and lying on benches, and some sitting on chairs while receiving care, is visible to all; making one wonder why this particular motor rider was not admitted at any of the facilities, looking at his condition.
This leads to the reason for this letter, which is to bring out a perceived apathy against these motor riders, the majority of whom are referred to as ‘Okada’ riders.
Due to their recklessness on the roads and the inconvenience caused to commuters, people always speak ill about them; drivers equally have no regard for them. Every user of public transport would attest to this. These riders are blamed for every offence, even when it is obvious drivers may be at fault sometimes.
Motor riders have become like orphans on the road; people care less about them, and when they are unfortunately knocked down, no one cares about them.
This is the mischief our authorities and agencies, including the police, must seek to cure to make the road safe for all users.
These are young folks that want to make a living for themselves, and with no skill or education, ‘Okada’ rides have become their source of livelihood. They need the protection accorded drivers and commuters as well.
In other countries, some facilities have been provided to make their work safer, but in Ghana, we lack them, leaving them with no alternative than to share the available space with the cars.
What has happened should serve as a wake-up call on our authorities to aim to take a second look at the ‘Okada’ menace. With the numbers increasing, there should be a way to regulate them because no government would have the guts to ban it totally.
Drivers should be made to accept the reality that they are sharing the roads with them, and therefore the need for patience and tolerance.
For some of our hospitals, I suggest the Ministry of Health conduct their own investigations to see what patients go through in accessing medicare, which is even not for free.
Thank you, Editor, for the space.
F. Morgan, Kokrobite
Dear Editor,
THE heartbreaking death of 29-year-old engineer Charles Amissah in a hit-and-run accident has exposed once again the failures in our health system.
Even more painful is the fact that his father had previously donated beds to some hospitals, yet when his son needed urgent care, he was moved from one facility to another because there were ‘no beds.’
This is not only tragic but unacceptable. How can a country lose its bright young citizens simply because hospitals cannot provide emergency treatment? The ‘no bed syndrome’ has become a national disgrace, and Charles’ death is a reminder that reforms cannot wait.
Our hospitals must be equipped to handle emergencies, and accountability must be enforced. If donations are made to improve facilities, then those facilities must serve the people when it matters most. Ghana cannot afford to keep losing lives to negligence and poor infrastructure.
Charles Amissah’s death should be the turning point. Let us honor his memory by fixing the system so that no family would suffer this kind of preventable loss again.
Princess Wonovi
Accra
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