Mothers working at Kirwara Subcounty Hospital in Murang’a county can finally breathe a sigh of relief following the establishment of a lactation station at the facility.
The station will provide the mothers with a safe and hygienic place to express and store breast milk for later use.
This will make it easier for the mothers to work more comfortably while ensuring their children are well fed.
The station was opened by the county government in partnership with Nutrition International, a nonprofit that works to eliminate vitamins and mineral deficiencies in developing countries.
Launched by Gatanga subcounty director for education Philomena Githire, the centre will allow mothers to focus on their work without the need to rush home to breastfeed their babies.
In a majority of the workplaces, women are forced to nurse their children or pump breast milk in unhygienic environment due to lack of proper spaces.
Githire underscored the role the station will play in boosting nutrition for infants, noting that well breastfed children have a higher immunity that enables them to easily fight off diseases.
“This is a milestone for women working in this facility as they will be able to give their children the proper nutritional foundation at the comfort of their workplace,” she said.
Nutrition International coordinator in Murang’a county Joel Mwaura said the lactation station, the first in the county, was opened as part of the celebration of the World Breastfeeding Week.
The station, he added, is an initiative aimed raising exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months, which stands at 60 per cent nationally.
Mwaura said babies born to working mothers have a higher likelihood of not receiving exclusive breast milk due to lack of proper facilitation.
“If all employers can replicate this initiative to provide a conducive environment for mothers to either breastfeed their children or express their milk, we can achieve a higher rate of breastfeeding,” he said.
The organisation, he said, is committed to supporting all efforts geared towards normalising breastfeeding of all children below two years.
“Breastfeeding should be exclusive in the first six months and continued with complementary feeding between six and 23 months.”
Mwaura said Nutrition International has been conducting sensitisation forums on breastfeeding including the Primary Health Care Act 2023 that supports work place breastfeeding for mothers.
The Act compels every employer to establish a lactation room that is shielded from view and free from intrusion by co-workers.
The room should be clean, quiet, private and warn and should not be a bathroom or toilet, and should have a lockable door, a wash basin and fridge for storing expressed milk.
“The room should have provision of electric lighting, a chair, table, clean space for storing equipment,” the Act reads in part.
The break-time provided to lactating mothers should be considered within working hours and should not exceed 40 minutes in every four hours worked.
A mother may, with written instruction from a registered medical practitioner, breastfeed a baby for longer in special circumstances.
Employers who don’t comply with the Act are liable to a fine not exceeding Sh500,000 or an imprisonment of one year, or both.
Mwaura further said his organisation has been partnering with the county government for the last three years to raise financing for low-cost high impact nutrition interventions geared towards reduction of child malnutrition.
The partnership has led to the implementation of the Uji feeding programme that sees more than 42,000 Early childhood Development and Education learners get a cup of porridge every day, increasing enrolments and boosting their nutrition.
“As a result of this partnership, Murang’a county has seen an improvement in its maternal, newborn, child health and nutrition indicators,” Mwaura said.
