THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN ENLIGHTENING NURSING MOTHERS ON THE BENEFITS OF EXCLUSIVE BREAST FEEDING (EBF)

THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN ENLIGHTENING NURSING MOTHERS ON THE BENEFITS OF EXCLUSIVE BREAST FEEDING (EBF)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1      Background of the study

The sustainable development of a country lies in how effective communication is. The media is a powerful tool that drives the all round development of a country. The media has the tendency of packaging the programmes and policies of the government in such a way that it is understood by all and sundry, in other to pass across a message.

The media through its campaigns and advertisements package programmes that will enhance the development of the country. Though it is not all about packaging the message, but it all about ensuring the message meets its target audience and its purpose well achieved.

In carrying out development campaigns, the people have to be involved in the process (Okunna, 2001, p:299). Many developmental campaigns have been carried out in Nigeria, but the truth remains on how they can be achieved. One of such campaigns is on Exclusive breast feeding.

The media, considering the various functions it performs can achieve 100 percent progress in enlightening nursing mothers about exclusive breast feeding.

Moreover, considering two of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) which arereducingchild mortality and improving maternal health before 2020; effective media campaign if carried out can help achieve these goals

(WHO, 2005).This will be possible because one of the benefits of EBF is reducing child mortality and morbidity.

One of the major attempts made by the World Health Organization and United Nations International Children Emergency Fund was the introduction of Baby Friendly Hospital Initiative(BFHI), with the aim of sensitizing nursing mothers on the need to adopt the EBF method. BFHI recommended that infants be fed with just breast for 6months; thereafter continue with breast milk and other foods. A study revealed that this campaign was not fully achieved as children between ages 1-5 who are exclusively breastfed dropped from 18% in 2003 to 12% in 2008 and 12% in 2010 and returned to 18% in 2010; consequently increasing the rate of child mortality (NPC and ICF macro, 2008). It was still discovered in this study that the number of people who are enlightened about EBF in the urban areas of Nigeria is higher than those in the rural areas and this poses a threat on the importance of EBF (NPC and ICF Macro, 2009). From the foregoing, this draws to the mind that the media has a serious role to play in enlightening nursing mothers on the benefits of EBF.

The media can achieve this by placing programmes and adverts on the radio, television, newspapers, bulletins, posters, etc about EBF in other to register the message on the minds of nursing mothers. They could move a step further by visiting hospitals and antenatal homes to enlighten nursing mothers and even prospective mothers on the need to adopt EBF.

However, despite the campaign carried out so far by the media, there still seems to be a gap of communication among nursing mothers in the rural parts of Nigeria; as they seem to be cut off (Oruamabo, 2004:16). Obviously, most media in Nigeria are located in the urban areas and sometimes their transmission does not get to the people in the rural area, thus, cutting off the rural dwellers. This brings us to the issue of adopting not only the modern modes of communication, but also the traditional modes of communication through verbal and non-verbal forms of communication as long as it is accepted and understood by the people(Ndolo, 1998:13).

This study is bent on exhuming how effective the media can be in enlightening nursing mothers on the benefits of EBF irrespective of their location.

1.2      Statement of the problem

Overtime, we have had cases of the people who reside in the rural parts of the country being relegated. They are relegated even down to the dissemination of information. It could be as a result of the language used in passing in the message or the channel of disseminating the information. Also, due to the poor state of infrastructure in the rural parts of the country, many media houses will not like to set up their stations there.

THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN ENLIGHTENING NURSING MOTHERS ON THE BENEFITS OF EXCLUSIVE BREAST FEEDING (EBF)