Fatou Drammeh made this call recently in one of the training sites in Changally Langkaddy in the Upper River Region in the implementation of their ongoing Gambia RISE Social Behavioral Change Communication (SBCC) Tools and Materials project.
She underscored the importance of breastfeeding in the overall growth and wellbeing of a child, saying breast milk is the first food that is given to a child for survival.
Drammeh thus appealed to mothers not to give water to their babies for the first six months, adding that during that stage in a child’s life breast milk is the best food.
“It is very important and it is the basis for child growth and development in the child’s survival.” she said.
She described breast milk as the first food that is given to a child, adding that breastfeeding is an art of science both the mother and child learn, because ‘you learn on how to breast feed your child and how the baby should be attached to the breast’.
This, she explained, is a skill that every woman learns, adding that the IPC training program also discussed the significance on how to take care of the pregnant mothers before delivery.
