Emma Okonji
Mothersbond, a leading mother and childcare online platform, has cautioned breastfeeding mothers to be wary of taking slimming teas and slimming tablets while breastfeeding, stating that such products may be harmful to the babies they are nursing.
In a statement issued in Lagos, the Mothersbond’s Director of Customer Experience, Michael Osuji, explained that while the company has nothing against slimming tea and herbs when used correctly and by those it was made for, its concern is its ripple effect on babies when such products are consumed by nursing mothers.
As promoters of exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of baby’s life, moms reach out to us that their babies are underweight despite exclusively breastfeeding them. A close look at the diet of some of our moms have shown that in order to lose weight gained during pregnancy they opt for slimming teas and pills. What they dont realise is that their baby is also taking the slimming tea through the breast milk.
Although we recognise that a baby’s weight has to do with genetics as well as nutrition, we shouldn’t be contributing to what we are complaining about. Nigerian women are known to constantly compare their baby’s weight with that of the next child they see, forgetting that baby’s weight is not the only indication of health and wellbeing; so long the weight of the baby is within the approved weight range for the age. Not all infants will be fat. This is why nurses and midwives take your baby’s weight each visit to be sure it’s within the expected range for the age.
He urged nursing mothers to avoid taking slim tea whenever they want to breastfeed, adding that research has proved that there is significant relationship between infant weight loss and maternal diet. ‘’Even slimming pills and teas taken as far as six months prior to pregnancy can affect a foetus weight, and if taken during breastfeeding can make babies weigh less than they should for their age.
‘’We can’t say how far this goes, but nursing moms can lose weight in better ways such as taking a guided balanced diet, eating five small sized portions of healthy meals in a day instead of three heavy meals if their goal is to lose weight, adding fresh vegetables to meals etc. If the focus is the belly area, a suitable post pregnancy abdominal binder can help solve the problem instead of resorting to tea and pills.’’ he stated.
