The milk and the chalk
Malawi teacher juggles between classes and breastfeeding to give her baby the best start in life
“My first two children were born when I had all the time on me. Now, I’m a teacher and to breastfeed my last one, I must run all the time,” says Rhoda Chimphoyo, a teacher at Mawiri Primary School in Ntchisi district, Malawi.
One of the biggest challenges for breastfeeding mothers is how to combine work and caring for their babies. However, Rhoda is able to juggle between her job and the need to breastfeed her three-month baby, Praise.
“My little niece comes to my class to alert me if Praise is hungry. Since my house is very close to the school, when my pupils are busy writing their exercises, I have a space of time to quickly breastfeed her and come back to class,” says Rhoda.
Breastfeeding gives children the healthiest start in life. From the first hour of a baby’s life through age two or longer, breastfeeding protects against illness and death. Among its myriad benefits, breastfeeding prevents malnutrition, decreases the risk of childhood diseases, supports healthy brain development and is associated with better school performance, longer school attendance and higher earnings as an adult.
Like for millions of breastfeeding mothers across the world, balancing work and family is an important priority for Rhoda. Being able to breastfeed during work hours enables her her give her best efforts to her learners and the best food to her baby at the same time.
“I am lucky to have the support of my headteacher and fellow teachers. They help with the class when I sneak out to check on the baby,” adds Rhoda “I’m exclusively breastfeeding Praise and she’s growing very healthy,” she concludes.
To address child malnutrition, WFP Malawi has been promoting exclusive breastfeeding and infant and young child feeding and care practices across the country. In Ntchisi district, where Rhonda lives, only 15 percent of children under 2 had adequate dietary diversity. As of 2018, this has increased to 50 percent.
Find out more about WFP’s work in Malawi
