Nursing Mothers with Twins can Practice Exclusive Breastfeeding
A maternal health advocacy group, Maternal and Child Resource Initiative on Breastfeeding and lactation experts have asserted that mothers with multiple babies could practise exclusively breastfeeding.
They explained that mothers with twins could adopt various positions to breastfeed both babies at the same time or alternately.
The experts shared this information during a live Instagram session on Monday evening titled “Expert Review on Exclusive Breastfeeding,” held to commemorate World Breastfeeding Week.
They noted that breastfeeding was critical to the growth and development of babies.
The World Health Organisation and the United Nations Children’s Fund recommend that babies initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth and be exclusively breastfed within the first six months of life.
The WHO states that breastfeeding provides all the energy and nutrients that infants need for the first months of life and is important to ensure optimal growth and development for increased chances of survival.
To create awareness and initiate action on the importance of breastfeeding, World Breastfeeding Week is held annually on August 1-7.
According to the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action, WBW is celebrated in commemoration of the 1990 Innocenti Declaration.
The theme for this year is “Closing the Gap: Breastfeeding Support for All.”
In honour of World Breastfeeding Week for this year, the WHO and UNICEF called for an improvement of the global breastfeeding rates, noting that over the last 12 years, only 48 per cent of infants worldwide have been exclusively breastfed.
Speaking during the live event, the Founder of MaCRIB and a Public Health Nutrition Expert and Breastfeeding expert, Professor Beatrice Ogunba, said, “As long as there is a demand, there will be a supply. So, once you put the baby to the breast and they latch properly, milk will constantly be produced. So, you can have as much as you can for twins and that will be sufficient to make them grow well, to grow strong and to be very healthy.
“So, twins can be exclusively breastfed. Now that there are ways you can carry them, you can feed the two of them at the same time and you can do it one after the other. So, the more the demand, the more supply you will get.”
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She further corrected the notion that women with small breasts cannot supply enough milk, stating that the size of the breast had no impact on breastfeeding.
The don advised mothers to ensure they were well hydrated, eat a balanced diet and ensure their babies properly latch on their breasts
Further speaking on how lactating mothers battling postpartum depression and those using Antiretroviral drugs can achieve exclusive breastfeeding, Ogunba said, “In an exceptionally difficult situation, for example, Human Immunodeficiency Virus, as long as the person is on ARV, antiretroviral drugs, she can breastfeed exclusively. But the only condition is that the mother is on ARV. You may need medical permission to do all these things.
“However, for those who are under medication, the word from the medical doctor should be followed. Some drugs seep into breast milk and if it’s something that is going to harm the child, then there may be a need for an alternative. But apart from that, as long as a lactating mother does not have any medical condition that may affect milk production or affect milk content, then she can breastfeed exclusively.”
The breastfeeding expert urged breastfeeding mothers to feed their babies as much as they demand and ensure the baby is satisfied before stopping the process.
Responding to questions on how long a child should be breastfed at night, Dietitian/Nutritionist, Mercy Oluwafemi, said, “Well, as long as the child demands, just keep giving. But when the child is around, maybe a year and a half, you know, you have to stop breastfeeding after two years. Some do more than two years, but most don’t even get two years. But as far as you are trying to practice, what you are trying to say is that that will be enough for your baby to develop well. They will need breastfeeding. So even if they wake up at night and demand more, keep giving.
“A child can be three or four years old and still demand food at night. Sometimes, they are very hungry during the day and won’t even have enough to eat. Some parents are so busy that they even give their children just three times a day. They feed their children three times a day and once they go to bed, they don’t have enough food.”
She further reiterated the importance of breastfeeding and urged lactating mothers to seek advice from medical practitioners on whatever challenges they might have.
