Peter Ntagusa with his wife Loyce Ntagusa and their last born daughter outside their house. Photo courtesy|Peddy Oniang’o, Save the Children

In the wide-open grass fields of Ole Serian  Kajiado County, we find 29-year-old Peter Ntagusa, a bus driver and a father of four sitting outside his home with his wife Loyce Ntagusa. On a typical day, you’ll find Peter at work, busy ferrying passengers from Kajiado town to Ole Serian and back using his bus. 

Peter, the sole breadwinner of his family tells us that he has been involved in the transport business for close to ten years now and this is how he earns a living to support his young family. 

Loyce is breastfeeding their last-born daughter Beatrice who is one and a half years old. Loyce tells us that she exclusively breastfed her daughter for the first six months and she hopes to continue breastfeeding her until she turns two. She says that her last-born daughter and her third-born son are healthier compared to her first two children.

"According to our Maasai culture, when children are born we give them goat milk cream known as ‘ng’orno’, which is believed to be good for the children. I gave my first two children this cream to fulfill our traditions not knowing it will have serious consequences on my children’s health," Loyce says. 

Save the Children through the mother-to-mother support groups, has been educating breastfeeding mothers in Kajiado County on the importance of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of a baby’s life and complimentary feeding in addition to breastmilk thereafter, until a baby reaches two years and feeding from a balanced diet. The program has also seen men benefit from the training in gaining knowledge about their role in supporting their wives during the breastfeeding period.

"A breastfeeding mother is encouraged to feed from at least 5-7 food groups. She needs to consume foods rich in calcium and iron among other nutrients to ensure that the breastmilk she produces is nutritious for the baby. A mother who is breastfeeding requires support in order to help her relax and produce enough milk to sustain the baby for up to two years,"says Ruth Mbuthia, Nutritionist at Save the Children.

Loyce tells us that before the program, mothers in her locality gave their newborn babies goat milk cream as soon as they were born, and also started giving them food before they were six months old This, she says, caused serious stomach complications and childhood illnesses like diarrhoea. She notes that the information she has received has empowered her and she now knows the importance of exclusive breastfeeding and how to introduce nutritious complementary foods after six months of a baby’s life.

Peter, on the other hand, says that he has noted a huge difference in the health of their last two children. He also says he has become an intentional father and believes in giving his wife all the support she needs after childbirth, to enable her breastfeed the babies without any stress.

"According to our Maasai culture, men flee their homes for close to a year when their wives deliver. I admit that when my first two children were born I was not present to offer necessary support to my wife. Thanks to Save the Children’s training on the importance of being involved as a parent, I have embraced my role as a father," Peter says.

In the previous pregnancies, Peter would slaughter a goat and give his wife fat and blood not knowing that this was not nutritious at all. He now knows better and understands the importance of a balanced diet and a husband’s support to a breastfeeding mother.

"I would like to urge fellow men to support their wives on their breastfeeding journeys because children are a gift and their wives need all the support they can get. This is not just important for the wife but also for the newborn babies," says Peter.

This year’s world breastfeeding week theme is: step up for breastfeeding; educate and support calling on support for breastfeeding mothers across the entire warm chain hierarchy to enable them practice breastfeeding. According to the World Health Organization and UNICEF, breastfeeding should be initiated within an hour of birth and continue exclusively for 6 months after which nutritionally adequate and safe complementary food can be introduced to the baby. 

Statistics from the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action (WABA) indicate that scaling up breastfeeding can prevent 20,000 maternal deaths, 823,000 child deaths and 302 billion dollars economic losses annually.