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Alcoholism Main Cause ofDomestic Violence: PollAngelo InzamaDaily MonitorNovember 27, 2009Most Ugandans say domestic violence which hasbecome a topical subject of recent, is mainly caused byalcoholism, according to a new poll.Police records show that 137 cases of domesticviolence were officially reported last year of which 156people lost their lives.The new poll has linked such incidents to heavyconsumption of alcohol.The poll conducted by Synovate – is a survey of publicopinion on social, political, cultural and economicissues. It was conducted in September this year using asample size of 1999 adult Ugandans who answeredface-to-face structured interviews.Ironically even if poverty was cited as second leadingcause of domestic violence – unemployment comes lastamong the reasons for abuse.Uganda has a narrow formal workforce and it isperhaps not surprising that unlike many developedcountries which can map domestic tension tounemployment, here poverty – is a wider measureapplicable to living conditions across both formal andinformal economic activity.Little ResearchThere is also a marked absence of large researchprojects from local universities that tract social valuesand conditions which could help explain the highincidence of violence and its tolerance in general.Recently alcohol has also grabbed the headlines withmore than two dozen deaths from poisonings in acountry which, according to the World HealthOrganisation, is one of the biggest consumers ofalcohol on the planet.Two other reasons of violence related to tension in thehome are adultery and “lack of respect” or “lack oftrust” between partners. Indeed the ratio of people whosay respect and trust are issues in violence have grownaccording to pollsters.Despite over a decade of activism legislators havenever passed a comprehensive domestic relations law.Recent proposals for an amalgamated marriage anddivorce law by the Uganda Law Commission - reportedextensively by Daily Monitor have received a luke-warm reception among lawmakers.However, Ugandans are overwhelmingly {75 per cent]aware of domestic violence with awareness higher lastyear than in 2009.The debate on domestic violence has picked up followingthe recent incident in which the former army commanderMaj. Gen. James Kazini was reported killed by hismistress Lydia Atim Draru following a domestic quarrelin their rented apartment in Namuwongo, a Kampalasuburb.☻☻☻☻☻☻Why You Shouldn’t DrinkWhile BreastfeedingDr. Vincent KaruhangaDaily MonitorAugust 20, 2009Whereas it is true that drinking alcohol during pregnancyposes a great health risk to unborn babies, risks ofdrinking alcohol while breastfeeding, however, remaincontroversial. Unfortunately, many of our Ugandanreadingpublic who surf the internet will be get confusedon what to take as gospel truth.In such circumstances, it is necessary to play safe and notdrink alcohol at all if one is breastfeeding. Alcohol willfind it way into the breast milk and the amount the babyconsumes depends on the amount of alcohol taken by themother and therefore alcohol concentration in her bloodand milk, and the amount of milk the baby consumesthen. Many breastfeeding alcohol-thirsty women will sayit is safe to drink one or two drinks once in a while.However, if a breastfeeding mother drinks, she shouldbear in mind that since an adult can have short and longtermeffects of drinking alcohol, the effects can even beworse to a baby who is much smaller and whoseelimination system of alcohol is not well-developed. Alsoshe should bear in mind the amount she drinks, and theage of the infant involved. A newborn has a veryimmature liver, so even small amounts of alcohol canaffect the baby. Until around three months of age, infantsbreak down alcohol at around half the rate of an adulthence any alcohol exposure to them can be a problem.Several proven or potential adverse effects of alcohol onsucking infants have been reported, even after exposureto only moderate levels.These include, getting drunk and irritable or not beingable to hold the breast well to suckle properly, risk of lowblood sugar and low body temperature.Continued on page 28-27- Traditional African Clinic December 2009