Tche Irene Morikang
6 October 2008
A lot has been said about contaminated dairy products from Asia. Focus is on how our kids can be protected from such poisonous food. Two things are however vexing. One: the brand names of goods that might be concerned have hardly been mentioned. Is it an intentional move to protect the population from the bird-flu sort of psychosis that gripped the country two years ago?
And secondly, some people think emphasis has not been placed on the other alternatives of imported milk - local fresh milk from cow, sheep or human beings. And talking about human milk, we ought not to fear for our babies if things were to happen like in yesteryears. Most adults today grew up with breast milk! Some even had it for over two years! Unfortunately, they don't want their kids to "enjoy" like they did. Our ladies now think it is a pride to go artificial. I hear it is a status symbol in some villages! "My baby only uses the bottle. I buy at least eight containers of milk a month", some women will brag.
Granted, there are some health conditions which can prevent a mother from breastfeeding her baby. But thousands of healthy nursing mothers prefer artificial milk for other reasons. They want to "protect their breasts". And for who? Well, the other day, I overheard someone saying more and more adults are taking the place of babies in breast feeding. Don't ask me how. But children are those who suffer. They are deprived of what naturally belongs to them under the pretext that they contribute to deteriorate the container of the "adult milk" ration. Can someone help me with a suggestion on how to handle this issue?
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 Cameroon Tribune. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
