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Embrace family planning for better health of mothers, children – Clerk urges

Embrace FP for better health of mothers, children – Clerk urges

By Mohammed Baba Busu
Planning
Lafia, Oct. 8, 2019 (NAN) The Clerk, Nasarawa State House of Assembly, Mr Ego Abashe, has urged Nigerians to embrace Family Planning (FP) to boost the health of mothers and children as well as for overall development of the country.
Abashe made the call on Tuesday in Lafia while playing host to Community Link for Health and Family Planning Advocacy (CLHEPA), an NGO in the state.
He underscored the importance of FP to mothers and children as well as to the country and the need for civil servants and other Nigerians to embrace child spacing.
“I want to thank you for the visit and to assure you of my readiness to support your advocacy in order to boost the health of mothers and their children.
“The visit is timely, because the 2020 budget is yet to be presented to the House.
“I will advise appropriately and I will also liaise with the Chairman, House Committee on Health to ensure that FP budget is captured and reasonable in the 2020 budget as well as to ensure its released for utilisation.
“I am a living testimony of child spacing and I will advocate for FP among civil servants and other Nigerians for the overall development of the country,” he said.
Earlier, Mrs Mary Ashenenya, Chairperson of the NGO, said that the visit was to seek for the Clerk’s support in ensuring that FP fund is budgeted in 2020 fiscal year.
Ashenenya said that FP was one of the key factors of achieving reduction of maternal morbidity and mortality rate.
“In this group, we are interested in the issue of child spacing/FP in Nasarawa State.
“We are here to advocate for increased government’s budgetary allocation and intervention in child birth spacing.
“This is to reduce maternal morbidity and mortality, eliminating risks of abortion that women and girls are exposed to and improving their quality of lives,” she said. (NAN)
BAB/ZGA/MST
Edited by Zainab Garba/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

More mothers embrace breastfeeding – NAN Check

More mothers embrace breastfeeding – NAN Check
By Nana Musa
Breastfeeding
Abuja, Aug. 28, 2019 (NAN) As the campaign for exclusive breastfeeding gains momentum in Nigeria, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that more mothers are embracing the art for the health and economic benefits of mothers and their babies.
Mrs Aisha Yakubu, a civil servant, told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Wednesday that “two years is the adequate and ideal period for breastfeeding a child’’.
Yakubu affirmed her commitment to proper breastfeeding for the benefit of both child and mother.
She urged mothers to take time off their busy schedule to do six months exclusive breastfeeding and later introduce complementary food.
Yakubu said proper breastfeeding help children to gain appropriate nutrients, important antibodies, healthy weight, reduce disease risk and make them smarter.
She said adequate breastfeeding of children helps the mothers reduce depression, may prevent menstruation, save money and helps the uterus contract back to pre-pregnancy size.
Mrs Olufunke Mayowa, a fulltime housewife, says breastfeeding helps her to connect with her baby.
Mayowa also told NAN that breastfeeding makes her feel fulfilled and help the baby’s immune system to fight any disease.
“Breastfeeding helps in the development of the child and reduces the risk of breast cancer,’’ she said.
She also advised mothers to breastfeed their children for two years and above.
“If I can do it, all women should be able to do it,” Mayowa said.
A businesswoman, Mrs Annika Okie, said proper breastfeeding strengthen the baby’s immune system; thereby helping with life threatening illnesses like pneumonia and diarrhoea, among others.
Okie said that a child that is not well breastfed is open to low immune system, bacterial meningitis, ear infection, sudden infant death syndrome, cold and respiratory illnesses, among others.
“Breastfeeding helps children for a life time, they are less likely to develop rheumatoid arthritis, lupus and heart disease in adulthood,” she told NAN.
On her part, Mrs Tinu Jimoh, also a mother, said breastfeeding produces natural hormones called oxytocin and prolactin that promote stress reduction and positive feelings.
She said it give babies calmness and gains the right temperature, it also help mothers reduce the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular diseases, among others.
A first time mother, Mrs Hafsat Hassan, said her ante-natal visits have made her see the importance of proper breastfeeding and the cost of doing it the wrong way.
She said that she wants to keep her shape by properly breastfeeding her baby and going for exercises.
Hassan also encouraged women to embrace breastfeeding as it benefits mother and child.
NAN reports that the World Health Organisation (WHO) recommends the practice of two years or beyond breastfeeding.
Exclusive breastfeeding, which last for six months, and is described as the best part of breastfeeding by paediatricians; helps in family planning by slowing the return of ovulation.
UNICEF and medical experts are also of the opinion that children exclusively breastfed tend to be healthier and more intelligent than others. (NAN)
NHM/ZGA/MST
Edited by Zainab Garba/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

196 pregnant women benefit from free food supplement in Bauchi

196 pregnant women benefit from free food supplement in Bauchi
By Amina Ahmed
Supplement
Bauchi, April 15, 2019 (NAN) No fewer than 196 pregnant women in Katagum Local Government Area of Bauchi State have benefitted from the freely distributed supplementary foods in the state.
Mamaye Super Activists, an NGO, said on Monday in Bauchi that the supplements were given out between Feb. 3 and April.
Mr Ahmed Sani, representative of the organisation, said the supplements were meant to improve the beneficiaries’ Maternal, Newborn and Child Health (MNCH) from February to April 2019.
Sani spoke at a meeting by the Bauchi State Accountability Mechanism (BaSAM) for MNCH in Bauchi on Monday.
He said that the action was to support indigent pregnant mothers in the area after series of sensitisation campaign on the need to attend Ante-Natal Clinics (ANC).
Sani said that the activity which was supported by the wife of the deputy governor of the state, Hajiya Amina Katagum, distributed nutritional grains for the beneficiaries.
Sani said that the super activists met with 10 ward heads from various communities on the need to disseminate information on ANC.
“With the support of the wife of the deputy governor of Bauchi state, Hajiya Amina Katagum, we distributed food supplements to 196 pregnant women in Katagum local government,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the super activists paid hospital charges for 100 women attending ANC and also mobilised 70 volunteers to donate blood for pregnant mothers in the area between March and October 2018. (NAN)
AE/KOO/MST
Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

UNICEF urge mothers to breast feed newborns exclusively for six months

UNICEF urge mothers to breast feed newborns exclusively for six months

By Awayi Kuje
Breastfeeding
Akwanga (Nasarawa State), April 3, 2019 (NAN) oThe United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) has advised mothers to embrace six months exclusive breastfeeding of newborns for optimal child growth and development.

Dr Zakari Adam, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, gave the advice on Wednesday in Akwanga at the opening of a six-day capacity building for 32 participants on Community Infant and Young Child Feeding Counseling package.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the six-days training was sponsored by UNICEF in collaboration with Nasarawa State Primary Health Care Development Agency in which participants were selected from the agency.

Adam said that the training was aimed at equipping nutritional health personnel with skills for effective healthcare service delivery.

He said that exclusive breast feeding was key to the development of the child, adding that it establishes early relationship between the mother, the family and the nation at large.

Adam explained that exclusive breastfeeding was good for the health of the new born babies, hence the need for mothers to feed their children exclusively for the first six months of life.

“Exclusive breastfeeding is very important for every newborn.

“Cow milk is intended for cow child and human milk is intended for their children, so human breast feeding is intended for children.

“It is critical to ensure that our children are fed exclusively on breast for six months in the interest of their heath,” he said.

Adam also disclosed that the organisation had provided the Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) to malnourished children in the state free of charge.

He noted that the support was to improve on the health status of the children.

He commended the health workers of the area for being up and doing to ensure that the health and standards of living of children is improved.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Taru Murindi and Ms Chinwe Ezeife, UNICEF WASH and Nutritiona specialists, among others resource persons, also mad presentations during the training. (NAN)
AKW/JEO/MST
Edited by Janefrances OrakaOraka/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

General news

Stop trimming newborn nails by biting – Paediatrician warns

Stop trimming newborn nails by biting – Paediatrician warns
By Lydia Ngwakwe
Nails
Lagos, March 28, 2019 (NAN) A Paediatrician, Dr Okiemute Olibamoyo, has warned mothers against trimming the nails of their newborns’ by biting to avoid biting off the babies’ flesh and contracting diseases.
Olibamoyo of the Department of Paediatrics, College of Medicine, Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), Idi-Araba, gave the warning in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Thursday.
According to her, it is wiser to use nail cutter specified for babies to trim their nails.
“The dangers with mothers biting off their babies nails is that they can inflict wounds; and inadvertently bite off some flesh that can cause wounds on the fingers of the baby; and these wounds can get infected.
“Because babies don’t have enough immunity to fight these infection, there may be need for drugs either orally or there may be need for hospital admission for extreme situation,’’ Olibamoyo said.
The paediatrician also cautioned mothers to stop the habit of applying breast milk on open wounds.
She said there was no scientifically proven benefit of applying breast milk on wounds.
She said however that there were some unorthodox practices that were being carried out including people applying breast milk on wounds, but added that it is not evidence-based.
“Breast milk can be a culture medium for bacteria to thrive when put on nails.
“It may just attract bacteria and it may cause infection on the nail. So we should shy away from applying breast milk on open wounds.
“It is best such wounds are taken to a healthcare practitioner, who examines it and properly administers drugs,’’ she said.
Olibamoyo said aside breast milk ensuring optimal growth of babies, it had proven natural antibodies like iron and immunoglobulin, which are of five types.
According to her, immunoglobulin A is abundant in breast milk and helps in preventing severe chest infection as well as diarrhoea in babies.
She advised mothers to see the need to exclusively breastfeed their babies especially in the first six months of life to continue up to at least when the babies were two years.
She said also that breast milk contained some fatty acids which were needed at that newborn period for optimal brain growth and development.
Besides, she said it improved cognition, quicker recovery during illness and reduced the risk of developing obesity which was another form of malnutrition. (NAN)
LED/JEO/MST
Edited by Janefrances Oraka/Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Kano State Govt distributes safe delivery kits to expectant mothers

By Tukur Muntari
Kits
Kano, Feb. 15, 2019 (NAN) The Kano State Government has distributed safe delivery kits to 300 expectant mothers free of any charge in Garo town of Gwarzo Local Government Area of the state.

The Wife of the state governor, Dr Hafsat Abdullahi Ganduje, distributed the items at the Garo Comprehensive Health Centre as part of effort to boost healthcare delivery system in the state.

Presenting the items to the beneficiaries on Friday, Hafsat called on them to make the best use of the facility to ensure safe delivery.

She said the state government was committed to providing quality healthcare free especially to women and children who are the most vulnerable in the society.

The state Commissioner for Health, Dr Kabiru Getso, said the state government spent N150 million on the purchase of the kits for distribution to expectant mothers across the state.

He said in addition, the state government had also procured treated mosquito nets which had been distributed to various health facilities for onward distribution to pregnant women.

According to him, the state government also renovated 300 primary and secondary health facilities to ensure effective healthcare delivery services.

He said other services and drugs being offered free to patients include accident and emergency, HIV and anti-malarial drugs.

Meanwhile, the state government says it has empowered 2,000 men and women with N40 million in the local government area.

NAN reports that each of the beneficiaries was given N20,000 to establish small scale businesses.

Other empowerment materials distributed at the occasion include spaghetti making machine, sewing and grinding machines. (NAN)
MTM/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Malnutrition: Nasarawa community volunteers, mothers demand more support from UNICEF

Malnutrition: Nasarawa community volunteers, mothers demand more support from UNICEF
By Awayi Kuje
Malnutrition
Keffi (Nasarawa State), Nov. 8, 2018 (NAN) Some Community Health Volunteers and benefiting mothers of malnourished children in Nasarawa State have lauded the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) for tackling malnutrition among children in the state and the country at large.
The volunteers and mothers however called for more support from the fund to eradicate malnutrition challenge in the area.
Mrs Fatima Musa, a Community Volunteer in Keffi, who spoke on Thursday during an interactive session with Dr Zakari Adam, the Chief of Field Officer, UNICEF Kaduna, said that the provision of Ready to Use therapeutic Food (RUTF) to malnourished children had improved on the lives of their children.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Adam led other members of the fund on an assessment tour to one of its services, Community Management of Acute Malnutrition (CMAM), at Primary Healthcare Centre, Angwan Waje, Keffi, Nasarawa State.
Musa said that she decided to be community volunteer in order to contribute her quota to the development of the health sector.
“As community volunteer, our duty is to sensitise and educate women in various communities on the need for them to keep their environment clean and to maintain hygiene.
“We also educate them to visit Primary Healthcare centre in case if they found abnormality in their children.
“We told them to visit clinic for other health counselling as well as to test their children for appetite, and we also said that this service and food provided by UNICEF is free of charge.
“And through that you can see women taking their children for clinic in order to enjoy the services and we have achieved good results.
“We are thanking UNICEF for the gesture and we called for its substance,’’ said the volunteer.
She, however, appealed for more incentives to volunteers in order to boost their morale, standard of living and to take care of their local transportation and running.
Some of the benefiting mothers also commended UNICEF for the gesture.
They said that a lot of children lives had been saved in the area due to the services and food provided by UNICEF.
Responding, the Chief of Field Office, UNICEF Kaduna, urged the community volunteers to continue to offer their services in order to save the lives of children in the area.
Adam assured them that he would discuss with the chairman of the local government council to see how they can collaborate in order to address their challenges.
While urging them to continue to be dedicated and committed to their duties for the overall development of the health sector, he added that God would reward them abundantly.
NAN reports that Ms Chinwe Ezeife and Mr Rabiu Musa, the Nutrition Specialist and Communication Officer of UNICEF, Kaduna, respectively, supported the exercise.
NAN also learnt that the Ready to Use therapeutic Food (RUTF) provided by the UNICEF for malnourished children is been funded by Children International Foundation Fund. (NAN)
AKW/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

Paediatrician harps on wrong assumption of child health

Paediatrician harps on wrong assumption of child health
By Lydia Ngwakwe
Mothers
Lagos, Oct. 30, 2018 (NAN) A Consultant Paediatrician, Dr Fatunke Fatoye, has advised mothers not to always assume that indications like fever, vomiting and abdominal pains in children were malaria symptoms.
Fatoye of the Department of Paediatrics, Federal Medical Centre, Keffi, Nasarawa State, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Lagos.
According to him, these symptoms can also be showing that the child has a condition known as “Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis (AAC)’’.
“Acute Acalculous Cholecystitis is a disease that affects the gall bladder; the gall bladder is a small sack that is attached to the liver that helps digestion.
“It also helps to store bile, which helps digestion.
“Though the condition is rare, but when it occurs, people may not think that it is AAC since it is not common; it is more in adults that children.
“But, if you find a child having fever, abdominal pain, vomiting, yellowness of the eyes, quickly seek a doctor’s attention.
“These symptoms can be misguided for malaria; and this is an advice for mothers who assume the health condition of their children when they see these signs without proper diagnosis.
“For people to know how the gall bladder looks like is why I like using slaughtering of chicken as example; there is this sack that must not burst inside the chicken when slaughtering, if it burst, the whole meet will be bitter, that is the gall bladder.
“So, the sack can become diseased; and some of the things that may point to that would be the child may be sick and he may be having pains from the right upper part of the tummy,’’ Fatoye said.
He enjoined parents to always pay attention to their children whenever they complain of pain on the right part of the abdomen particularly if they had yellowness of the eyes.
According to him, it can be a pointer that the child has stone in the sack and the sack is diseased.
Fatoye said having a yellow eye may be a pointer to numerous kinds of conditions, adding that infections that affect the gall bladder may be one of them.
He said that if the infection was a long time infection, the stone might probably cause gall bladder cancer because anything that causes irritation for a long time might cause cancer.
The consultant said severe malnutrition was also one of the causes of AAC in children, urging mothers to ensure their children are fed with the right nutrient.
Besides, he advised mothers to avoid feeding their children fatty foods high in cholesterol content such as meat pie, biscuits and sausages.
He said lifestyle change in diet and weight loss is the most effective ways to prevent gallstones in the sack, adding obesity is an increased risk factor. (NAN)
LED/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Health

World Sight Day: Mothers’ lifestyle can affect baby’s eye sight, says Optometrist

 

Glaucoma

By Lydia Ngwakwe and Esenvosa Izah

Lagos, Oct. 11, 2018 (NAN) The Lagos State Chapter of the Nigeria Optometric Association (NOA) said on Thursday that observing a healthy lifestyle and diet during pregnancy will help unborn babies against developing eye diseases at birth.

Dr John Samssedi, Chairman of the association, gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

He spoke as the world marks the 2018 World Sight Day with the theme:  “Call to Action‘ as Eye Care Everywhere’’.

Samssedi said: “Mothers have direct responsibilities as regards the health of their babies.

“Mothers must ensure that they attend antenatal classes where they will get proper information on the right food to eat and drugs to take during pregnancy.

“Some mothers drink and smoke a lot when they are pregnant; some even go as far as taking some kind of hard drugs.

“These are very detrimental to the baby’s health and development; the eyes of the baby can also be affected.

“When mothers are advised properly and they adhere strictly to those instructions, you find out that their babies come out healthy,’’ the expert said.

According to him, after doing all that, there are still some children that still present with certain kinds of conditions at birth.

“For instance, you can have conditions of birth canal where it was not too healthy and the child comes out with conditions like childhood cataract or glaucoma.

“Childhood glaucoma is an unusual eye diseases and significant cause of childhood blindness, childhood glaucoma is also hereditary,’’ Samssedi said.

The optometrist said that glaucoma was on the increase.

He said: “Many people assume that they are okay without going for examination and their eye challenges and pains degenerate.

“Glaucoma is a group of diseases that affect the optic disc behind the eye and can get worse overtime, if not prevented.

“There are five cardinal tests that one needs to do to know if the condition is glaucoma; they include the Ophthalmoscope, Visual field test, Pachymetry, Optical Coherence Tomography (OCT) and the Tonometry.”

Samssedi said that an in-depth examination would entail checking the structure of the eyes including the cornea, lens, as well as the retina  and this could take up to 30 minutes.(NAN)

LED/EEI/VIV/GOK

Edited by Vivian Ihechu/Olagoke Olatoye

Health

Paediatrician warns nursing mothers against smoking

Paediatrician warns nursing mothers against smoking
By Ummul Idris
Smoking
Abuja, May 31, 2018 (NAN) Dr Annabel Shafe, a paediatrician, has warned nursing mothers to stop smoking as there are potential dangers for babies inhailing the fumes from the cigarette.
Shafe gave the warning in an interview with News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja in commemoration of the World No Tobacco Day.
According to her, exposing toddlers and small children to cigarette smoke could lead to coughs, stuffy nose, chest cold and ear infection.
She added that if the habit was prolonged, it could lead to lungs cancer, heart disease and eye disease, among others.
She said that tiny particles of pollutants found in cigarette smoke contain chemicals which were in large numbers and dangerous.
The expert said that babies and other young children were more susceptible to the smoke than adults because their lungs are still developing.
“When a mother smokes any place toxic particulate from tobacco smoke gets into your hair, skin and clothing which can still be inhaled and prove harmful to infants and children.
“And by the time you come into contact with your baby, even if you’re not smoking at the time, the baby comes in contact with those toxins can have a serious effect.
“Even if you go outside to smoke or use fan to clear away smoke in the room after smoking the smoke linger on fabrics and dust in a room after smoke has cleared.
“A small amount of exposure to this kind of pollutant can bring problems in children, many parents under estimate the dangers perceiving smoke could impose,” she said.
She added that toddlers and children were vulnerable to exposure to smoke that can linger for hours in a place, because they are likely to touch or try to eat contaminated surfaces.
However, she noted that breast feeding is very important to the baby because of the natural protection it gives to baby. (NAN)
UMD/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola