Unity Baptist child and Youth Development Center Mafi Anfoe World Breastfeeding Day Celebration

Unity Baptist Child and Youth Development Center Mafi Anfoe in collaboration with compassion international has planned to be a year-long campaign to promote exclusive breastfeeding from birth to six months According to Mr. Richard Baku, (Compassion International Ghana Partnership Facilitator for Tongu Cluster).

The World Breastfeeding Week Celebration is here with us once again and it is a great opportunity to renew our commitment to protect, promote and support exclusive breastfeeding.

It is also an occasion to unite and celebrate the benefits of breastfeeding, and encourage and support breastfeeding mothers. It also sensitizes people about the importance of breastfeeding and provides information and resources to help mothers breastfeed successfully.

According to Mr. Richard Baku, Compassion International Ghana establishes partnership relationships with local Churches for effective implementation of their integrated program model which consists of Survival, Early Childhood, Childhood, and Youth Development Programs supported by Complementary Intervention (CIV) programs.

The Survival Intervention is the first phase of Compassion International Ghana’s Holistic Child and Youth Development Model, and it is aimed at reducing mortality among mothers, newborns, and infants by providing essential interventions to help children reach their first birthday.

Currently Compassion International has witnessed enormous growth with the total number of beneficiaries at 96,684 as of June 2022. The total number of partnered churches also stands at Three Hundred and Ninety-Eight (398) and together, we have become major stakeholders in infant and maternal development.

It is worth noting that, 4,428 of the beneficiaries are within 15 communities namely Vome, Mafi Dove, Mafi Devime, Mafi Dumae, Mafi Kutime, Volo, New Bakpa, Sogakofe, Mafi Adidome, Mafi Asiekpe, Mafi Gidikpoe, Kpoviadzi, Mafi Kumase, Mafi Anfoe and Mafi Zongo which are scattered across the 3 Tongu Districts in the Volta Region.

Out of this number, the Unity Baptist Child and Youth Development Center located in Mafi Anfoe has 339 beneficiaries.

Together with Compassion International Ghana, the Unity Baptist Church supports expectant mothers to deliver their babies safely and have their babies free from preventable diseases so their children have a bright future. The focus is also on Children during the most critical stage of their lives.

Madam Bridget a nurse also thought lateting mothers how to be hygienic Breastfeeding mothers tend to forget that they need to care for themselves as well as the baby.

There's so much to think about with remembering when the baby's last feeding was, making sure the baby's positioning and latch are correct, and counting dirty diapers, that you can easily leave your own well-being at the doorstep.

She said, even before your child can talk, he or she will show signs of hunger or fullness by using sounds and movements.

Crying is often a late sign of hunger. For you to know your baby is hungry, put your child to the breast or bottle while he or she is still calm. As your child gets older, he or she will develop new signs for hunger and fullness.

Understanding your child’s signs is important to help you know when and how often to feed your child.

Below are some examples of signs your child may show for hunger and fullness when he or she is a newborn to 5 months old and signs your child may start to show between 6 to 23 months old:

Birth to 5 Months Old:
An infant turning her head to the side and putting her hand near her mouth.
Your child may be hungry if he or she puts hands into the mouth, and turns head towards the breast or bottle; puckers, smacks, or licks lips, and has clenched hands.

A mother raising her infant towards her and kissing her. The infant has a soft, tranquil face.

Your child may be full if he or she:

I. Closes mouth.
ii. Turns head away from breast or bottle.
iii. Relaxes hands

The pastor in charge of the Baptist church in Mafi Anfoe also informed parents to be supportive of their children especially at school-going age to prevent them from teenage pregnancy and other things that would lead them to robbing.

He said from now, their center would not be ready to support any child that is of school-going age that gets pregnant.