Tembisa Hospital celebrates World Breastfeeding Week

Tembisa Hospital staff and parents at the Kangoroo Mother Care Unit celebrated World Breastfeeding Week on Friday last week.

Tembisa Hospital’s Ward 4 Unit Manager, Sister Mandisi Ramela, said breastfeeding is the best way to provide infants with the nutrients they need.

“Nutritious, complementary foods should then be added while continuing to breastfeed for up to two years or beyond. Breastfeeding is the best for the babies and it prevents other sickness from children. If the mother is working, she must express before she leaves for work, so that the child will have milk for the day,” she said.

Sister Ramela recommended exclusive breastfeeding starting within one hour after birth, until a baby is six months old.

The nurses and breastfeeding mothers marched in the corridor, singing.

The breastfeeding campaign ran for two days at the hospital and an educator from Netcare also took part in educating parents on the importance of breastfeeding.

“If the mother does not have enough milk to breastfeed her baby, others can donate for her baby, but the donor must go for some tests before she can donate milk for another child.

“The benefit of breastfeeding is to reduce the risk of breast cancer. Women who breastfeed reduce their risk of developing breast cancer by as much as 25 percent,” said Sister Ramela.

She said the reduction in cancer risk comes in proportion to the cumulative lifetime duration of breastfeeding.