CONTRIBUTORS
Sofia Jomo
Research Officer
Kenya’s breastfeeding journey is a story of progress, grounded in policy and community efforts, but sustaining and growing that success will require continued investment, workplace transformation, and firm implementation of the legal frameworks already in place.
Breast milk is often referred to as liquid gold and for good reason, as it offers unmatched nutritional and immunological benefits for babies, while also protecting mothers’ health. One of its most powerful advantages is its ability to shield infants from diseases, preventing an estimated 600,000 child deaths globally each year (WHO & UNICEF, 2025). For mothers, breastfeeding reduces the risk of ovarian and breast cancers, among other health benefits.
Kenya’s progress in promoting breastfeeding
Over the past two decades, Kenya has made remarkable strides in supporting breastfeeding. Exclusive breastfeeding rates have increased from a mere 13% in 2003 to an impressive 60% by 2022. This surpasses the World Health Assembly’s target of 50% by 2025 and the global average of 48% recorded in 2023.
This progress is no accident. It reflects years of sustained efforts and policy interventions designed to protect, promote, and support breastfeeding. Some of the key initiatives include:
The Breastfeeding Mothers Bill, 2024
Passed by Parliament, this progressive legislation ensures that working mothers can breastfeed or express milk in the workplace. Key provisions include:
- Establishment of lactation spaces in workplaces
- Designated break times during working hours for breastfeeding
- Flexible work arrangements for nursing mothers
- Protection against discrimination for breastfeeding women
- Rights for all women, working or not, to breastfeed in public
- Provision of baby changing facilities at work
The Breast Milk Substitutes (Regulation and Control) Act (2012, revised 2022)
This law ensures appropriate marketing and use of breast milk substitutes and promotes safe infant nutrition. It prohibits advertising breastmilk substitutes and restricts health workers from accepting gifts from manufacturers. It also mandates all labels on breastmilk substitutes to not only indicate the proper usage of those products, but to also encourage breastfeeding.
The Health Act, 2017
This act reinforces the rights of breastfeeding mothers at work by urging employers to establish well-equipped lactation stations. It also prohibits the marketing of breastmilk substitutes within these stations and supports break times for mothers to breastfeed or express milk.
National Policy on Maternal, Infant, and Young Child Nutrition, 2013
This policy outlines Kenya’s commitment to creating environments that support breastfeeding. It aims to protect, promote, and support exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months and continued breastfeeding for two years or more.
The Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative (BFHI)
Kenya adopted the global BFHI developed by UNICEF and the World Health Organization to ensure that hospitals support mothers and babies through the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding. The Ten Steps include:
- Support mothers to initiate breastfeeding within the first hour of birth.
- Allow immediate and uninterrupted skin-to-skin contact between mother and baby.
- Train health workers to help mothers with breastfeeding.
- Keep mothers and babies together 24/7 (rooming-in).
- Avoid giving newborns food or drinks other than breast milk unless medically necessary.
- Teach mothers to recognize when their baby is hungry and respond to those cues.
- Avoid bottles, teats, and pacifiers when possible.
- Talk to pregnant women and families about the importance of breastfeeding.
- Provide continued support after discharge.
- Follow the International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes to protect families from aggressive formula promotion.
By 2008, 70% of hospitals in the country had been declared baby-friendly, however, only 11% maintained active baby-friendly status by 2010, highlighting sustainability challenges.
The Baby-Friendly Community Initiative (BFCI)
BFCI extends breastfeeding support to communities, advocating for exclusive breastfeeding in the first six months and continued breastfeeding alongside complementary feeding for at least two years. Kenya has developed a comprehensive BFCI package, including training materials, implementation guides, communication tools, and assessment frameworks.
What more needs to be done?
Despite the encouraging achievements, Kenya’s exclusive breastfeeding rate has plateaued at 60% in recent years. To build on current progress and improve outcomes further, the following steps are critical:
- Implementing a baby-friendly workplace initiative
Although legal frameworks support breastfeeding at work, many women still encounter barriers when they return from maternity leave. Some workplaces lack lactation rooms or fail to offer flexible working hours, forcing mothers to abandon exclusive breastfeeding (Ickes et al., 2021; Kamau et al., 2022).
Implementing a baby-friendly workplace initiative can help to resolve this challenge. Evidence from a study in a tea plantation in Kericho, Kenya, shows that implementing such initiatives is both feasible and effective. The initiative, which included sensitizing managers and creating breastfeeding-friendly policies, led to increased breastfeeding rates, higher worker retention, and improved job satisfaction among nursing mothers.
- Increasing investment in breastfeeding support
The government can scale up breastfeeding by investing in supportive programs. For example, providing grants to help establish lactation stations in small businesses or informal workplaces would ensure more women benefit. Additionally, offering financial support to mothers working in the informal sector could extend the benefits of maternity leave to them as well.
- Enforcing existing laws
Laws that support breastfeeding are only effective if enforced. Employers who fail to meet legal obligations — such as providing lactation spaces or discriminating against nursing mothers — must be held accountable. Stronger enforcement and consequences for non-compliance will help normalize supportive environments for breastfeeding mothers.