Extend Maternity Leave from 3 to 6 Months – Nutritionist Urges Government

The Nutrition Officer for Jaman North District Health Directorate, Joseph Addai-Yeboah, has urged the government to extend the current three ( 3) months of maternity leave to six (6) months to promote the exclusive breastfeeding agenda.

He explained that exclusive breastfeeding commences from the day a woman delivers to the sixth month of the newborn baby without adding water or anything apart from the breast milk.

He advocated that the three-month maternity leave given to nursing mothers affects the exclusive breastfeeding plan because the pressure on nursing mothers at the workplace after returning from leave always interrupts the breastfeeding plan, which affects the health of the newborn baby.

Mr. Addai-Yeboah therefore impressed upon the government to extend the period to benefit the newborn baby and the mother.

He observed further that breast milk contains all the food nutrients that are needed by babies to ensure effective growth and development and admonished that families must support nursing mothers to be able to practice exclusive breastfeeding successfully.

Mr. Addai-Yeboah said this during an exclusive interview with Kwaku Mensah Abrampa on Gye Nyame FM’s health programme “Dubbed You and Your Health” as part of the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week, which falls on the first week of August.