Nigeria, worst place to be a mother..

Oh! Sweeeeet mother..

Report...

NIGERIA is the worst place to be a mother among the less developed countries of the world. Data from  the Save
the Children’s 13th State of the World’s Mothers Report which compares 165 countries around the world in key areas such as mother’s health, education and economic status, as well as critical child indicators such as health and nutrition, places Nigeria as 80th out of 80 countries in the Less Developed countries category shows
Released ahead of the  crucial G8 meeting, where food will be discussed, the Report focuses on nutrition as one of the key factors in determining mothers’ and their children’s well-being – malnutrition being the underlying cause of at least a fifth of maternal mortality and more than a third of child deaths.
The report details a vicious cycle of how mothers, who may themselves have been stunted in childhood, go on to give birth to underweight babies who have not been adequately nourished in the womb. If a mother is impoverished, overworked, poorly educated and in poor health, she may not be able to feed the baby adequately, with largely irreversible effects.
Save the Children notes that in sub-Saharan Africa, up to 20 percent of women are classified as excessively thin. The report highlights that the best method for breaking this vicious cycle and protecting the pregnant mother and her baby from malnutrition is to focus on the first 1,000 days starting from pregnancy.
Calling for more global action to tackle the vicious cycle of maternal and child malnutrition among the G8 leaders,  Susan Grant, Save the Children Nigeria Country Director said: “The 2012 State of the World’s Mothers shows clearly that this crisis of chronic malnutrition has devastating effects on both mothers and their children. We urgently need global leadership on malnutrition that results in key nutrition projects being rolled out for mothers and babies to ensure their health and survival.”
In new research for the report, Save the Children found that the simple measure of supporting mothers to breastfeed could save one million children’s lives a year.  Yet the report also shows that less than 40 percent of all infants in developing countries receive the full benefits of exclusive breastfeeding. This is due, in part, to countries lacking strong commitment and complimentary programmes that enable mothers to breastfeed.
According to Susan “Our report shows that a mother’s breast milk – one single nutrition intervention – can save a million children’s lives each year. Policies and programs must be put in place in all countries to ensure all mothers have the support they need to choose to breastfeed if they want to. Acting now not only saves lives, but saves dollars as well.”
“Exclusive breastfeeding would go a long way to address malnutrition and improve child health in Nigeria and Health workers are critical to ensuring an increase in  exclusive breastfeeding in the country-currently at 13 percent- by ensuring that  every baby is put to breast with one hour of delivery” Susan said Nigeria.