Grade-R teachers in the Free State are foregoing their maternity leave, for fear of losing their jobs. The women say they are forced to leave their new-born babies to earn a stipend.
Breastfeeding may be natural, but mothers need help. Naomi Mitchell is a doula in Port Elizabeth and a La Leche League leader who shares her own journey.
World Health Organization recommends mothers with suspected or confirmed Covid-19 should continue to breastfeed and should not be separated from infants.
Many breastfeeding moms stop breastfeeding their babies when they go back to work because their workplace environments aren’t conducive to expressing milk.
While exclusive breastfeeding is encouraged, some women in Mpumalanga living with HIV claim nurses force them to breastfeed their newborn babies.
LIMPOPO – The Department of Health has launched a breastfeeding room at their offices in order to promote breastfeeding.
High rates of overweight exist alongside malnutrition and experts predict an ailing future for the nation’s children if urgent action is not taken.
Recent research suggests that breast milk can protect newborns from developing obesity and diabetes later in life.
Health officials promote exclusive breastfeeding during International Breastfeeding Week
HIV positive mothers are often advised to bottle-feed their babies to avoid the possible transmission of HIV through breast-milk. This sets HIV-infected women apart from all other mothers, who are encouraged to breastfeed exclusively for six months. But exciting new research, conducted by Professor Anna Coutsoudis and colleagues at the University of Natal, shows that exclusive breastfeeding for the first three months may result in no greater risk of HIV transmission than exclusive bottle-feeding. Coutsoudis’s findings still need to be confirmed by other studies. If they are confirmed, it will be extremely good news for HIV positive women, especially in developing countries such as South Africa where exclusive breastfeeding is cheaper, healthier, and a more socially acceptable option in many communities.
