She made the call at a ‘private sector advocacy and sensitisation seminar in support of maternal, infant and young child nutrition’ organised by NECA’s Network of Entrepreneurial Women (NNEW) in collaboration with FHI360/Alive & Thrive foundation and Nigeria Employers Consultative Association (NECA) in Lagos.
Awosika said that the challenges faced by working mothers with respect to exclusive breastfeeding are significant, but with the support of employers through laudable policies, the challenges could be overcome.
She stressed that it is imperative for employers to recognise the importance of breastfeeding and complementary feeding practices, and take proactive steps to create a supportive work environment that will enable mothers to exclusively breastfeed their babies, save lives, ensure healthy growth as well as development of the children.
According to her, one of the main challenges faced by working mothers is lack of time and flexibility to breastfeed during working hours, adding that working mothers struggle to find enough time during their busy work schedules to breastfeed their babies exclusively.
“It is crucial to create a supportive work environment that recognises and values the importance of breastfeeding and complementary feeding for the health and well-being of both mothers and babies. Many workplaces do not have adequate facilities for breastfeeding,” she said.
Awosika noted that employers play a critical role in supporting working mothers in their breastfeeding journey; hence they should provide adequate maternity leave policies that allow for exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months as recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO).
President of NNEW, Funmilayo Arowoogun, said in view of the role that women play in our society, it is pertinent to focus on the ways in which working mothers can be provided an environment that allows them to effectively manage their role as a wife, mother and employee.
Arowoogun said: “Women are multi-taskers and would thrive in all areas if given the enabling environment. It is no longer a fallacy that an empowered woman is an asset to any nation. Hence, the need to provide an enabling working environment that supports her productivity as a stakeholder in the spectrum of the society she occupies or manages cannot be over-emphasised.”
Director General of NECA, Adewale Oyerinde, also called on all stakeholders in the private sector to implement initiatives and support family friendly policies like six months maternity leave, workplace creches and flexible work from home policies to enable working mothers/families exclusively breastfeed their babies as an investment in long-term staff productivity and human capital development.
“We encourage more private sector organisations to invest in family friendly policies for the benefit of employers and employees,” he said.
