Mother's milk is life giving

Breastfeeding is supposedly a natural phenomenon, as natural as childbirth itself. However, for most new mothers, it can prove to be rather frustrating since dealing with helpless newborns can be daunting, especially with no experience to fall back on. Thankfully, unlike parenting, which does not come with a manual, there is now a wealth of information available for young mothers. In light of declining rates for exclusive breastfeeding, support groups and organisations such as the World Health Organisation (WHO) are also offering support systems to guide the new mother through the process of breastfeeding. A paediatrician specialising in neonatology and lactation from Samitivej Sukhumvit Hospital laments that the average rate of exclusive breastfeeding in Thailand has dropped to 33 per cent.
“If you leave a mother and child alone in the first hour after birth, what we call the golden hour, the baby will find the breast and suckle. Once you lose that instinct, you have to re-learn and it becomes a struggle.”
Hospital policies, c-sections to cater to convenience and superstitions, lack of knowledge about breastfeeding among medical staff, and the overall medicalisation of the reproductive process have disrupted the natural rhythm of the mother and child.
Myths surrounding breastfeeding and the rampant popularity of breast milk substitutes do not help matters either. Working mums give up breastfeeding and switch to substitutes when they return to work after maternity leave. Some women even believe that breast milk substitutes are more beneficial to infants. In some countries, tradition has it that a few days after birth the infant must be started on other foods. Some mothers fear that they might not produce enough milk for their babies.
Breastfeeding mothers can, with the help of encouraging employers, express milk and store it. Like many food products, breast milk can be safely stored in a refrigerator and used later. So, breastfeeding need not stop when mothers return to work at the end of their maternity leave. A paediatrician explains, “It needs very little effort on the part of the employer to provide a room where mothers can pump milk and a refrigerator where this can be stored. Mothers can take the refrigerated milk home at the end of the day and leave it at home for the infant to be fed the next day.”
Colostrum, or the first milk that a lactating mother produces, is thick and yellow in colour. In many cultures this is considered dirty or unhealthy and mothers are warned not to breastfeed their baby for the first few days after birth. Doctors point out that this milk is actually rich with nutrients essential to a newborn. Over time, the milk thins and changes colour but is still packed with helpful antibodies. Doctors advocate feeding babies nothing but breast milk for the first six months of their life because no breast milk substitute can provide the same amount of nutrients.
The important difference between breast milk and any substitutes is that breast milk is “live” food while formula is processed food. Breast milk has no expiry date. It is always fresh, always good, and always safe for the child. It is difficult for an infant to process the additives in substitutes.
Doctors say that the amount of milk a mother produces is not restricted by the size of her breasts. In fact, when a woman is breastfeeding, her body produces hormones that, in turn, produce the milk the baby needs. So, in the absence of a medical condition, a mother should be able to produce enough milk for her baby. Hospitals today are staffed with lactation consultants who can help with such problems.
Every government hospital in Thailand now has a lactation clinic and many offices have breastfeeding spaces. Such spaces should also be part of public places like malls and attitudes to breastfeeding mothers need to change. Breastfeeding is not indecent exposure; it is a caring, bonding experience.
“Mothers need support immediately after birth,” says a nurse specialising in newborn care. “There is a lot of work and very little education. They are told that babies sleep 10-12 hours a day, but they don’t understand that babies probably do so in 10 small instalments.
“Mothers complain that babies are too sleepy, not latching on, not sucking. Often mothers do not know what they are doing wrong. Formula manufacturers say feed every 4 hours and that’s what people do, whereas it would be more natural to feed the baby whenever it is hungry.”
Mothers with genuine health problems and infants who are unable to nurse must, of course, have recourse to alternative measures. However, healthy mothers should not miss out on the experience of breastfeeding. New mothers might face physical problems or emotional problems but help is at hand.
“The smell of the baby, the feel of the baby, the bonding that occurs as a mother holds a child close and nurses it at her breast — this is good for mothers and for children. When a mother breastfeeds her child, she gives it more than just nutrition, she gives it life.”

For more information, contact Samitivej International Children’s Hospital, Sukhumvit Campus at (02) 711 8236-7.