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05 August 2020 | Story Dr Chantell Witten | Photo Supplied
Dr Chantell Witten
Globally, World Breastfeeding Week is celebrated from 1 to 7 August annually to raise awareness and galvanise action to promote, protect, and support breastfeeding. This year’s theme, #WBW2020, will focus on the impact of infant feeding on the environment/climate change to protect the health of babies, the planet, and its people. Sadly, despite all the health and social benefits of breastfeeding, South Africa has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates globally.  Why is this?

Women in general face a very hostile social environment in South Africa, even more so during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Almost one in two households in South Africa is female-headed, and approximately nine million children live in fatherless homes.  This puts an added burden on women, and most often mothers, to economically provide for essentials such as food, transport, and health care. Non-breastfeeding implies a reliance on other infant feeding, most often commercial and expensive. This inadvertently leads to inappropriate infant feeding, with the introduction of other foods before the age of six months.  The World Health Organisation and the National Department of Health recommends and promotes exclusive breastfeeding for all infants during the first six months of life.  In the era of lifelong antiretroviral treatment for HIV, all women can now safely breastfeed their infants. Infants younger than six months do not need anything else but breastmilk.

Breastmilk is a unique biological material that adapts to the needs of the growing infant.  Breastmilk provides nutrition, immunity, and unique nutrients to promote neurocognitive development.  However, to assist mothers in breastfeeding, we need a supportive environment at home, in our communities, and in our workplaces.  Breastfeeding mothers face an inordinate amount of pressure and negative inputs from hostile family who do not support the mother’s role to mother her child as she sees fit, or from hostile public spaces that do not cater for the breastfeeding mother, such as shopping malls and restaurants.  This saw Spur, the well-known family restaurant group, putting forward a public breastfeeding policy for their retail chain.  In order to support the return of breastfeeding mothers to the workplace, we need all workplace environments to endorse and comply with the code of good practice on pregnancy and afterbirth.  Perhaps in this time of COVID-19, more women will be working from home and will have the pleasure and privilege afforded to them to breastfeed their babies for longer.  The longer children are breastfed, the longer the health benefits and protection, even into the adult years.  Breastfeeding is associated with lower rates of obesity, lower rates of non-communicable diseases, and higher rates of cognitive development.

COVID-19 has forced us to have compassion and stand in solidarity with each other; now, more than ever, we need to stand together with breastfeeding mothers and women in general.  After all, breastfeeding is best for babies, best for our planet, and best for everyone.

 

Opinion article by Dr Chantell Witten, Division of Health Professions Education, University of the Free State

 

News Archive

Kovsie TV Launched
2015-05-06

Victor Ngubeni, Grace Thoabala, Nangamso Dlatu, Aisha Poswa, Lesego Maakamedi, Nothando Hlope, Aldene vd Merwe and Lawrence Siyoko

“We have to change our university before we can change our country.”

 

There is a revolution at hand, and students are requesting new and exciting platforms on which they can voice themselves. Kovsie TV aims to do just that for Kovsie students. 

 

As a student initiative, the steam behind it is SRC Student Development and Environmental Affairs, Victor Ngubeni. He says that it is only right that it be by the students themselves. The launch saw many from the campus community gathered out of curiosity and excitement for the new venture. The evening started out as quite a classy frenzy, which had attendees clearly prepared for the level of broadcasting that the launch would showcase.

 

The initial idea is to increase the number of platforms where students can receive information. The Student Media portfolio, which oversees the functioning of student media platforms, aims to make Kovsie TV as autonomous as possible. As an introductory initiative, it will aid in the sharing and telling of students’ stories.

 

It is important to mention the preparation process that was endured by the many hopefuls who auditioned, hoping to make it as one of the Kovsie TV presenters. For more than three weeks, the panel of judges sieved through the contestants until they had just six rough diamonds. Then, for the first time, the audience met the faces that they would become familiar with from this point.

 

As Ngubeni stressed during his speech, Kovsie TV would not serve as propaganda machine for the SRC, as many might have asked about the relationship that could be expected between the two. The architects of Kovsie TV hope that, as a student initiative, it will inspire a new era in student activism.

 

When asked about the concept behind this new platform, Ngubeni informed us that, “the concept is to have a twenty-minute campus TV show highlighting what goes on around campus so that students know, and so that we can get them participating in campus life activities.”

 

This is a student initiative whose future will depend solely on the students themselves.

 

Presenters:

Nangamso Dlathu – Studio presenter

Grace Thoabala – Studio presenter

Lesego Maakamedi – Social events

Nothando Hlophe – Current affairs

Aldine van der Merwe – Culture events and Vox-Pop

Mbulelo Siyoko – Culture and Vox-Pop

Aisha Phoswa ? Sports

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