By BAKANG MOKOTO
7 July 2026 – Associate Professor at the North West University’s (NWU) Centre of Excellence for Nutrition with an interest in public health nutrition, Prof Christine Taljaard-Krugell said breastfeeding is a public good – so why are mothers carrying the cost alone?
Taljaard-Krugell said South Africa has the policies, but has the country counted the cost for mothers to breastfeed? She further said breastfeeding should not be a choice between feeding a baby and feeding a family.
“We tell mothers to breastfeed, but do we make it possible? South Africa has among the most progressive infant feeding policies in the world. The Tshwane Declaration of 2011, signed by Ministers, MECs, traditional leaders, and representatives from the World Health Organisation and UNICEF, committed the country to protecting exclusive breastfeeding (EBF) for the first six months of life.
“The R991 Regulations of 2012 imposed strict marketing restrictions on formula. South African law binds companies and citizens to R991 itself. It does not bind them to the subsequent WHO guidance, much of which has evolved since 2012. The country meets the letter of a decade-old law without necessarily meeting the spirit of where the evidence has since travelled,” said Taljaard-Krugell.
She added that exclusive breastfeeding rates tell a different story. Taljaard-Krugell said the most recent national figure puts exclusive breastfeeding at six months at 22%.
“A decade and a half of political commitment has not changed this trajectory in any sustained way. The standard response has been to strengthen the clinical chain: more lactation counsellors, better-trained community health workers, and expanded breastfeeding support at facility level.
“These interventions matter, and they address barriers that are very real. But evidence suggests that information and clinical support, while necessary, are not sufficient for many South African mothers. What is often missing is something more basic: time and income,” she said.
Taljaard-Krugell said the benefits of breastfeeding for both mother and child are well established. She said for infants, breastfeeding reduces the risk of infectious diseases and lowers the likelihood of stunting.
“For mothers, lactation itself lowers the risk of postpartum haemorrhage, type 2 diabetes and certain cancers. These benefits belong first and foremost to the mother-infant pair, regardless of whether the milk reaches the baby directly at the breast or through other means.
“However, some of the benefits of breastfeeding extend far beyond the household. Healthier infant places less strain on public clinics and hospitals. Reduced childhood illness means fewer missed school days and, later in life, improved opportunities for the child and lower costs for the state,” said Taljaard-Krugell.
The Guardian 