Breastfeeding: Why A Child’s First 1,000 Days Matter

The journey into motherhood is often filled with joy, hope and expectations. But for many women, it is also accompanied by a flood of advice, some helpful, others rooted in myths and long-held cultural beliefs. Shortly after childbirth, some mothers are encouraged to give their newborns water before breastfeeding, while others are warned against eating eggs during pregnancy over fears that the baby will grow too large, making delivery difficult.

In some communities, the thick yellowish first breast milk, known as colostrum, is discarded because it is mistakenly believed to be harmful, despite being the baby’s first and most important source of protection against disease.

These long-held cultural beliefs, coupled with poverty, inadequate family support and weak workplace policies, continue to undermine optimal infant feeding practices, contributing to Nigeria’s heavy burden of child malnutrition.

It is against this backdrop that the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare has launched a nationwide First 1,000 Days of Life Social and Behaviour Change (SBC) Campaign alongside the commemoration of the 2026 World Breastfeeding Week, signalling a shift from simply telling mothers what to do to mobilising families, communities and institutions to support them.

Health experts describe the period from conception to a child’s second birthday, the first 1,000 days, as the most important stage in human development.

During this window, a child’s brain grows at an extraordinary pace, forming thousands of neural connections every second. Nutrition received during this period influences not only survival but also intelligence, immunity, school performance, future productivity and even national economic development.

Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Daju Kachollom, said poor nutrition during this critical period leaves irreversible consequences, including stunting, impaired cognitive development, weakened immunity and reduced economic potential.

She urged mothers to initiate breastfeeding early and continue breastfeeding up to two years while ensuring children receive nutritious complementary foods at the appropriate age.

“The children born today will build Nigeria tomorrow,” she said, encouraging mothers to seek antenatal and postnatal care at primary healthcare centres and consume affordable nutritious foods such as vegetables, eggs, soybeans and sweet potatoes during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Nigeria continues to face one of the world’s highest burdens of child malnutrition. Although 95.6 per cent of Nigerian children are breastfed at some point, only 35.5 per cent begin breastfeeding within the first hour after birth, while exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months remains at only 25 per cent.

The situation is reflected in nutrition outcomes. About 40 per cent of Nigerian children are stunted, around eight per cent suffer wasting, while 27 per cent are underweight, underscoring persistent nutritional challenges despite improvements in antenatal care attendance.

Experts said these figures represent more than a health crisis, they threaten the country’s human capital development.

Director and Head of Nutrition at the Federal Ministry of Health and Social Welfare, Mrs. Olufunmilola Adegbite, said research conducted across communities revealed that deeply rooted cultural beliefs continue to influence maternal nutrition and infant feeding practices.

Among the misconceptions identified are beliefs that pregnant women should avoid eggs, that newborns require water immediately after birth, and that colostrum should be discarded.

She explained that many mothers also reduce their food intake to ensure other family members have enough to eat, while poverty limits access to diverse diets rich in animal protein, fruits and vegetables.

The ministry’s behavioural research also found that decisions about pregnancy and child feeding are often influenced more by husbands, grandmothers and community traditions than by health workers.

Recognising this, the campaign adopts storytelling rather than lectures, using relatable characters, videos and community role models to demonstrate positive nutrition practices.

“People respond emotionally to stories. They want to see the right behaviour being practised rather than simply being told what to do,” Adegbite said.

UNICEF Deputy Representative in Nigeria, Rownak Khan, noted that while most Nigerian women breastfeed, many cannot sustain exclusive breastfeeding because they lack support at home, at work and in their communities.

According to him, creating breastfeeding-friendly workplaces, strengthening family support systems and improving government policies are just as important as educating mothers.

“We cannot ask mothers to carry all the responsibility,” he said, stressing that fathers, employers, policymakers, traditional rulers, religious leaders and communities all have roles to play.

Similarly, the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Public Health, Mrs. Uju Anwuka, described breastfeeding as “a national investment,” saying healthier children today would translate into a stronger workforce and greater national prosperity tomorrow.

Beyond protecting infants against infections and malnutrition, breastfeeding reduces mothers’ risks of postpartum haemorrhage, breast cancer, ovarian cancer and Type 2 diabetes.

To strengthen maternal nutrition, the ministry is introducing Multiple Micronutrient Supplementation (MMS) for pregnant women during antenatal care while expanding breastfeeding counselling, training health workers and strengthening community support systems.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency (NPHCDA) also pledged to expand frontline worker training and community-based breastfeeding support groups to improve counselling and confidence among mothers.

Development partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and Civil Society Scaling Up Nutrition in Nigeria (CS-SUNN), applauded the campaign, describing breastfeeding as a foundation for sustainable national development.

WHO reaffirmed its commitment to supporting Nigeria in improving breastfeeding practices, while CS-SUNN called on governments, employers and communities to strengthen policies that enable mothers to breastfeed successfully.

The campaign’s success, however, will depend largely on how effectively its messages reach Nigeria’s 774 local government areas, where cultural beliefs and limited access to quality healthcare continue to shape infant feeding practices.

The launch of the First 1,000 Days of Life campaign represents more than another public health awareness programme. It reflects growing recognition that nutrition is not only a health issue but also an economic and development priority.

If Nigeria succeeds in helping more mothers begin breastfeeding within the first hour of birth, exclusively breastfeed for six months, continue breastfeeding alongside nutritious complementary feeding, and receive the support they need from families, workplaces and communities, the country stands to gain healthier children, stronger learners, more productive adults and a healthier economy.