Tema-Ghana, March 17, GNA – Mr. Samuel Atuahene Antwi, a Nutritionist at the Tema Metropolitan Health Directive, has indicated that mentally unstable mothers are unfit to breastfeed.
He explained such mothers had mood swings due to their health issues, adding that they could be triggered and become violent at any moment, adding that it was safe for family members to take away the babies from such mothers and give them proper care.
Mr. Atuahene Antwi stated at the weekly “Your Health! Our Concern! A Ghana News Agency initiative aimed at promoting communication on health-related issues to influence personal health choices.
He expressed concern about the neglect of mentally ill persons, “even when some miscreants take advantage of them and get them pregnant, they are still not catered for by their families and society.”
He said breastfeeding had a reflex that operate in the body of the breastfeeding mother, and hormonal activities that cause the production and release of breastmilk.
“It is purely an activity of the mind. If a mother is stressed up, she will have little breastmilk coming and mere anxiety disorder can cause a mother, not to lactate,” he added.
He said babies of such mothers could be fed with dirt because of the poor personal hygiene of nomads.
Mr Atuahene Antwi, however, advised families with cases of unsound pregnant women to report to the Department of Social Welfare for the appropriate interventions.
