By Joke Kujenya
MOTHERS TRYING to breastfeed face mounting challenges in healthcare facilities, homes, and workplaces that offer little or no support for nursing.
Yet, according to global health authorities, structured assistance during the early days of motherhood remains key to ensuring infants receive the critical nourishment and immunity breastfeeding provides.
The 2025 edition of World Breastfeeding Week, jointly spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, and partners, has placed sharp focus on dismantling these barriers through targeted action and community-wide involvement.
“Breastfeeding is not just a personal choice; it’s a public responsibility,” the two agencies stated in a joint campaign brief. “When families, health workers, employers and policymakers step up, mothers thrive, and so do their babies.”
Across Nigeria, such support is proving decisive. At a government clinic in Ilorin, Kwara State, 24-year-old Mariam Lawal sat beneath a tree outside the antenatal ward with her newborn.
Her first child had stopped breastfeeding early due to complications and misinformation. This time, guided by trained midwives, her experience has been markedly different.
“The midwife explained everything when I gave birth—how to hold my baby, how often to feed. She showed me how to manage engorgement,” Mariam said. “Nobody did that the first time.”
WHO guidelines recommend exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding for up to two years or more. Yet a lack of accurate information and workplace protections forces many women to abandon this practice earlier than advised.
In Lagos, a government-backed initiative titled “Breastfeed With Confidence” is attempting to reverse this trend.
The Ministry of Health launched the programme with trained lactation counsellors placed in public hospitals and primary health centres across the state.
“Most mothers want to breastfeed, but they’re up against cultural myths, poor hospital support, or pressure to return to work too early,” said Dr Olufunke Adeyemi, coordinator of maternal health at the Lagos Ministry of Health.
“We’re seeing real change when trained help is available from day one.”
Economic arguments have added urgency.
UNICEF reports show that improving breastfeeding practices could help Nigeria save millions annually in healthcare costs by reducing child illness, hospitalisations, and long-term developmental challenges.
WHO estimates that globally, optimal breastfeeding could prevent 820,000 child deaths every year.
Real-life experiences continue to shape the campaign’s message.
In Kaduna, Hauwa Ibrahim returned to work at a food processing firm three months after giving birth and struggled to find a hygienic space to express breast milk.
A supervisor, inspired by a workplace sensitisation programme, offered a spare office for her use.
“That small change gave me back control,” Hauwa said. “Now I pump during breaks and store it in the staff fridge. I didn’t think I could continue, but I’m still nursing my daughter at nine months.”
This year’s campaign urges governments, employers, and community leaders to design and enforce policies that protect and enable breastfeeding mothers.
Stakeholders are being called upon to invest in infrastructure, education, and legal frameworks that prioritise mother-and-child health.
Evidence presented by WHO and UNICEF shows that breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, followed by exclusive breastfeeding for six months, significantly cuts down on infant mortality and strengthens maternal health.
It also reduces the risk of malnutrition, childhood obesity, and diseases like diabetes and breast cancer in mothers.
Yet enforcement of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes remains weak in many regions, leaving mothers vulnerable to misinformation and formula marketing.
Experts have warned that without tighter regulations and greater investment in lactation education, progress will remain slow.
In Abuja, civil servants recently transformed a disused room in a federal office into a breastfeeding corner, complete with privacy blinds and a milk fridge. Amaka, a nursing mother in the department, said the initiative allowed her to continue breastfeeding post-maternity leave.
“I used to cry thinking I’d have to stop,” she said. “Now I pump during my break, and I feel proud I didn’t have to choose between my job and my baby.”
Health professionals have urged all levels of government to expand maternity protections, regulate formula advertising, and institutionalise breastfeeding support within healthcare and workplace systems.
They argue that every sector of society must play a role in normalising breastfeeding as a public health standard.
Local peer educators, midwives, and women-led groups are stepping up to fill support gaps across Nigeria’s under-resourced health infrastructure.
In Enugu, 29-year-old seamstress Ifeoma recounted how a nurse staying after hours helped her overcome myths and fears after a difficult start to breastfeeding.
“There were so many myths—some people told me my milk wasn’t enough. But a nurse stayed back after her shift to teach me skin-to-skin and how to express milk.
That changed everything,” she said. Today, she volunteers as a peer counsellor for new mothers.
With coordinated action, campaign organisers argue, every child can receive a healthy start, and every mother the enabling conditions she needs.
WHO and UNICEF continue to highlight that when breastfeeding is supported early and consistently, the benefits extend far beyond families—to the social, cognitive, and economic fabric of entire nations.
