The United Nations International Children's Emergency (Unicef) has called on the government to extend maternity leave by three months.
Currently, the Employment Act of 2007 stipulates that mothers are given three months of maternity leave on full pay.
It also provides for paternity leave for two weeks, which allows fathers to support new mothers to start breastfeeding.
Unicef Kenya Representative Shaheen Nilofer on Friday said the extension to six months will allow mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies adding that maternity leave is one of the best ways to ensure that this happens.
“This is a good start, but UNICEF would like to see maternity leave extended to six months in Kenya, which is the recommended minimum period of exclusive breastfeeding for children’s health,” Nilofer said.
The World Health Organisation and UNICEF recommend that mothers should exclusively breastfeed their babies for the first six months and until the child is two years old, whilst complementing breast milk with other safe and nutritious foods after six months.
According to PS Public Health Mary Muthoni, breastfeeding serves as a child's first immunisation against diseases, preventing approximately 54 per cent of all diarrhea episodes and 32 per cent of respiratory infections.
Furthermore, it significantly reduces infection-related mortality among infants less than 3 months old by an impressive 88 per cent.
As a result, breastfeeding helps prevent approximately 823,000 deaths among children each year worldwide.
“In mothers, breastfeeding yields great maternal benefits including reducing chances of developing ovarian cancer and the development of invasive breast cancer by about six per cent each year a mother breastfeeds,” she said.
Despite the benefits, the prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding in Kenya has however stagnated at 60 per cent over the last decade against the global target of 70 per cent by 2030.
This has been attributed to inadequate awareness and education about the benefits of breastfeeding, cultural practices promoting early introduction of solid foods and limited access to proper healthcare facilities and support.
Maternal employment challenges and aggressive marketing of formula milk products are also said to have deterred mothers from exclusively breastfeeding their infants.