Baringo: Concerns raised over rising cases of alcoholism among breastfeeding mothers

As World Breastfeeding Week celebrations culminated on Monday, calls have been made to support women to exclusively breastfeed for the first six months of their babies' lives and as part of complementary feeding until the children turn two.

A section of residents said many women are put under a lot of strain and are expected to do too many duties, including housework and farming, which sometimes makes them resort to alcoholism.

Speaking in Tanglubai East, Baringo county, Ann Kimwa, the county head of nutrition, said very few mothers are exclusively breastfeeding their children up to the recommended six months.

Moreover, consumption of illicit alcohol has been identified as a major problem in the area.

The county's health department said the rate of malnutrition among children is high.

Kimwa said, “Family support is important to enable mothers to successfully breastfeed their children.” 

Tiaty constituency is an arid area and the lack of food also contributes to poor health conditions for children as many parents sometimes lack meals.