August 1 – 7: World
Breastfeeding Week
Breastfeeding… the
forgotten natural behavior
Breastfed babies are
healthy and happy babies 
Sarah (3 ½ months) and Fiona (7 ½ months) now 26 and
23 respectively
Julie Marsaban is a
founding member of SI Jakarta (joined in 1992) and is now a member of SI
Hobart, Tasmania. She is also the Information, Communication Technology Liaison
for SI Tasmania and one of SISWP Programme Coordinators. Professionally she is an Independent Health
Promotion Consultant in the field of maternal and child health. She
contributed the article “Maternal Mortality: I would’ve died twice” for the
June 24 SoroptiVoiceBLOG (www.soroptimistinternational.org/blog/post/137-maternal-mortality-i-wouldve-died-twice) in which she explained the global state of the maternal
mortality ratio (MMR), and her own ordeal in surviving two childbirths. This
week is the 19th World Breast Feeding Week and in this blog she
explains the importance of breastfeeding and how this natural human behavior
has been sidelined and forgotten; the obstacles she faced in trying to
breastfeed her two babies and where to find information on how to help protect,
promote and support breastfeeding.
Now
that I’ve survived to tell the story of the ordeals of the childbirths of my
two daughters in a small private clinic in Jakarta, Indonesia, I will continue with
the story of the next challenge, i.e. of venturing into territory yet unknown
to me – the daunting task of breastfeeding.
To
recap: both births were traumatic experiences. The first one was a prolonged
labor, which resulted in the baby having to recover in an incubator for a week.
The second was a necessary Caesarian birth and required more recovery time for
myself (I was told). In both cases the babies were immediately taken away and I
wasn’t allowed to see them until the following day. The clinic staff had me believe that it was
because both mother and baby needed to rest and recover. These delays, I
discovered many years later, were not only unnecessary but were actually detrimental
to the birthing process and the initiation of breastfeeding.
The prevalence of breastfeeding had gradually
declined, beginning in about the 1940s – 50s, in favor of ‘bottle feeding’. How
and why did this happen? In the early and late 1940’s there was a shortage of
man-power and more and more women were recruited to the work force mainly to
work in factories to build ships, machineries and ammunition in aid of the
World War II effort. This combined with responding to the increasing infant
mortality and morbidity, infant formula milk was developed (modified cow’s
milk) and introduced as a substitute and as supplementation to breast milk.
Subsequent inappropriate marketing of infant milk formula driven by interests
in commercial gains (touting that it is the choice of modern mothers) has at
times convinced mothers that infant formula was superior, or at least as
good as breast milk. As a result breastfeeding was no longer the norm; initially
in developed countries and then gradually spread to developing countries. Consequently
breastfeeding wasn’t always encouraged and eventually this natural behavior was
forgotten and at times needed to be “taught”. Fortunately now there are certified
lactation consultants who have specialized skills in breastfeeding management
and care. (See
below for the links regarding lactation consultants.)
If human mothers and babies were left alone as nature
would have it, with the newborn baby placed on the mother’s chest (umbilical
cord still attached), it would instinctively seek out the breast and nipple and
attempt to latch on, just like any other mammals and actually, marsupials as
well. Here is a bit of interesting trivia I learned since I moved to Tasmania
that I want to share with you. Do you know that when Tasmanian devils are born,
the litter size averages between 30-40 and they are the size of grains of rice;
and they all scramble to crawl into the mother’s pouch to try and find and
latch onto one of only four nipples? The lucky four who are successful stay in
the pouch until they are 4 months old before they venture out. They would
return to breastfeed until they are weaned at about 10 months
Although at that time I was naïve and ignorant about
breastfeeding, I was assertive enough and insisted to breastfeed my babies. For
the first baby who was in the incubator, the clinic staff reluctantly let me
breast feed her but warned me not to take the bandage off her eyes (which was protecting
them from the Ultra-violet light). I took it off anyway. I wanted her to see me
and I wanted to see her eyes. With the second one, the nurse cited that I
needed the extra rest as the reason for the delay in introducing
breastfeeding. Leaving the clinic (both
times), I was given a free can of infant milk formula to take home. This was
over 23 years ago and I am glad to learn that many maternity hospitals/clinics
have since adopted the policy of “baby-friendly
initiatives” that promote rooming-in (mothers and babies in the same room)
and do not practice giving away infant milk samples anymore, and so
facilitating early initiation of
breastfeeding (within 1 hour of birth) and exclusive breastfeeding. Also now there is a law in Indonesia which
stipulates that mothers have the right to breastfeed their babies and that
babies have the right to receive exclusive breast milk for the first 6 months
of their lives.
Early
initiation of breastfeeding is exactly what I
described earlier where the babies are allowed to
immediately seek the breast to suckle. Early initiation of breastfeeding has
shown to have the following benefits: it helps to expel the placenta by
stimulating the breast that causes the womb to contract and in turn causes the
placenta to break off from the womb. This reduces the risk of post-partum
bleeding. It also promotes bonding between mother and baby and provides
immunity for the baby from the colostrums.
Exclusive
breastfeeding is when the babies receive nourishment
solely and fully from the mothers’ breast milk.
As in the case of the Tassie Devils, their mother’s milk alone –
exclusively – is sufficient to give them the nourishment they need to grow into
healthy, feisty little devils. As for humans, numerous studies have shown that
exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life is sufficient to provide
nourishment for the babies to thrive and develop. Some studies show that in developing
countries, babies are healthiest during the first six months of their lives (when
they are still being fully breast fed and before the introduction of
supplemental foods, which unfortunately may be nutritionally insufficient and
possibly unhygienic).
Despite missing the chance of early initiation, I was fortunate
to be able to breastfeed both babies exclusively for 6 months, and continue on
until 11 months for the first baby, and 27 months (Yes! 2 years and 3 months)
for the second one. Since then I have been an enthusiastic advocate for breastfeeding
education and promotion. Both my
daughters are now happy and healthy young adults.
|
To learn more about www.waba.org.my – World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action www.breastfeeding.asn.au – Australian www.ilca.org – International Lactation Consultant Association www.ibcle.org – International Board of Lactation www.iblce.edu.au – International Board of Lactation |
Editor’s note:
This week is World Breastfeeding Week (http://worldbreastfeedingweek.org/).
Remember, while we should promote breastfeeding
as the healthy “norm”, we must be careful to avoid stigma, discrimination, or
guilt towards mothers who cannot or do not breastfeed for whatever reason. Let’s work on normalizing breastfeeding and
not blaming.