It was nine o'clock on Thursday, October 2 2008 and all the women about 45 in number were waiting patiently to be attended to by the midwives or gynaecologist as the case may be for their regular ante-natal check-ups. They came in different shapes and sizes and were all seated in rows on benches provided at the ante-natal clinic of the Gbagada General Hospital, Lagos. The pregnant women were on time, and in no time a midwife was on hand to give the talk of the day, which was on the importance of breastfeeding and breastmilk to the infant, and why it is a must for every mother unless specified by medical condition to breastfeed her child.

The matron began by recalling the current China infant milk contamination and series of others across the world, Nigeria inclusive, which resulted in deaths of a number of babies and causing several others to be hospitalised.

Breastmilk, she noted, "remains the ideal and best milk for a baby from birth to six months of age and even for upward of two years with the introduction of other foods from the staples of the baby's culture."

Yours sincerely was curious to know why the China issue came into the discussion that morning. It was, of course, a privilege to be among these great pregnant women to listen again to mothers who were filled with expectations as they carry their babies in the warmth of their wombs.

And so, one of them asked: "Why has feeding baby with infant formula become so deadly these days? Why can't government ensure regulations are kept?"

Good questions. The matron had a Herculean task explaining to these women why infant formulae are now very delicate to trust aside breastmilk. Tried as she could, she successfully told these women: "There are people out there trying to make money from anyway at any cost and so would never mind whose child is killed."

Perhaps if one were opportuned to further give a talk to those women, it would have been appropriate to let every woman know that reports from the China milk contamination saga showed that death among the infants was traced to the ingestion of melamine in the milk.

Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) discovered, but too late, that melamine has been deliberately added to raw milk for a number of months to boost its apparent protein content.

Consequently, the babies fed on the milk developed kidney stones and renal failure. Kidney stone is a hard mass composed of substances from the urine that form in the kidneys leading to kidney failure.

Melamine is an organic compound that is often combined with formaldehyde to produce melamine resin, a synthetic polymer that is fire-resistant and heat tolerant.

Melamine resin is a very versatile material with a highly stable structure. Uses for melamine include whiteboards, floor tiles, kitchenware, fire retardant fabrics, and commercial filters. Melamine can be easily moulded while warm, but will set into a fixed form. This property makes it ideally suited to certain industrial applications.

Fresh tests last Thursday by China's national food quality watchdog indicated that it had detected the toxic chemical melamine in 31 milk powder products from 20 mainland manufacturers.

Chinese authorities have acknowledged that more than 53,000 Chinese infants have become ill after consuming powdered melamine-tainted baby formula. Of that total, 13,000 have been hospitalised and four have died.

Colostrum, the yellowish, sticky breast milk produced at the end of pregnancy, is recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as the perfect food for the newborn, and feeding should be initiated within the first hour after birth. Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended up to six months after birth.

Powdered infant formula (PIF) has been associated with serious illness and death in infants due to infections with Enterobacter sakazakii. During production, PIF can become contaminated with harmful bacteria, such as Enterobacter sakazakii and Salmonella enterica. This is because, using current manufacturing technology, it is not feasible to produce sterile PIF. During the preparation of PIF, inappropriate handling practices can exacerbate the problem.