The Burden of Motherhood: An Assessment of Government Policy Towards Exclusive Breastfeeding Among Working Mothers in Nigeria

Abstract

Nigeria has witnessed a rapid increase in female labour participation such that it risks a decline in exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) rate – despite the World Health Organization’s and government’s endorsement of EBF. EBF is a beneficial process of feeding an infant with breast milk only during the first six months. This study aims to assess the extent to which the Nigerian policy addresses the barriers and contributes to improved EBF rates among working mothers in Nigeria. It takes a qualitative approach – policy analysis. The policy analysis critically evaluated the content of the National Policy on Infant and Young Child Feeding in Nigeria (2010) and the Labour Act (2004). The policy documents addressed these barriers to an extent. However, they showed minimal coherence. There are still policy gaps and disparity between the policies and their implementation – attributable to inadequate clarity and insufficient mechanism to spur policy compliance. Therefore, nutritionists should be engaged in such nutrition-specific policy formulation. Further research to measure the impact of this recommendation is encouraged.