Men Urged to Help in the Promotion of Breastfeeding

Parish Manager for the Manchester Health Services, Stanhope Scott, wants men to help promote breastfeeding for infants.
“A father’s support is critical to a successful breastfeeding, simply by listening to the mothers. It requires that you actively play a role in your partner’s life without being invasive,” he told a breastfeeding forum organised by the Manchester Health Department, on Thursday (September 24) at the Mandeville Park.
Mr. Scott added that if fathers spend the first weeks after a child’s birth doing some of the household chores and involving themselves in the health and well being of the child, the issue of exclusive breastfeeding will become a norm for mothers.
“Some men mistakenly believe that breastfeeding is strictly confined to women and babies. They see their role as that of a passive or neutral observer who has little influence on the process, but fathers actually have tremendous potential to either facilitate or undermine the success of breastfeeding,” he stated.
He told the audience, consisting mainly of personnel from the Health Department and young mothers, that fathers must equip themselves to actively support mothers in the breastfeeding drive, for healthier children.
The Ministry of Health, with support from the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), is on a drive to increase the number of mothers that are exclusively breastfeeding