Making it work

Brazil chose a simple solution to tackle infant mortality: breast milk. The Brazilian Milk Bank Network, the largest network of breast milk donors in the world, is a successful model studied and duplicated in many Latin American and African countries, as well as in Spain and Portugal. From antibodies to exclusive nutrients, the benefits of breastfeeding are immense. The WHO and UNICEF recommend initiation of breastfeeding within the first hour after birth. The theme for UNICEF’s recently concluded World Breastfeeding Week was ‘Women and Work: Let’s make it work’. The emphasis is on better support systems and policies to enable working mothers to breastfeed. “For the first six months, the baby has to be exclusively breastfed,” says Anupama Kumar, a trained lactation counsellor. “In India, we are yet to come up with friendly policies to support working women who breastfeed. In China and Thailand, most corporate offices have rooms where breastfeeding mothers can pump milk for newborn babies and store it. Under refrigeration, breast milk stays fresh for up to seven hours; at room temperature, it is four hours,” she explains. Swati Aravindh, an active member of the breastfeeding support group of Indian mothers on Facebook, says working mothers need awareness on using breast pumps to store milk for their baby before stepping out. “This way, they can avoid formula milk,” she says, drawing attention to a questionnaire on breastfeeding that was circulated among paediatricians. “Only senior paediatricians got the answers right. Many at the junior level didn’t. It’s a myth that a newborn has to be fed every two hours. It is only on the baby’s demand. I have breastfed my baby 21 times a day. It was round-the-clock in the first six months. As their stomach grows from cherry size to walnut size, it also gets emptied very easily. Six wet diapers a day and an active baby are indicators of a healthy baby,” she says. Working women stress on the role of family and support systems to continue breastfeeding once they rejoin work. Says Neha Agarwal, a corneal surgeon in Gujarat, “As I come from a medical background, I ensured that there is a steady supply of breast milk when I went back to work. I expressed milk and stored it in the refrigerator. And stayed completely away from formula milk.” Her baby is 13 months old now but she plans to continue breastfeeding till the baby weans itself on its own. Swati says many mothers switch to formula because they assume the supply lessens in three to four months. “The more the baby suckles, the better is the supply of milk. As the baby grows, it drinks faster. They suck their food in five or six minutes. We should have lactation consultants in hospitals to educate new mothers.” Support systems in the form of a breastfeeding room empower mothers to nurse in public places like stations, malls and hotels. Manjari Sivakumar, mother of a 15-month-old, says breastfeeding is a great opportunity to bond with your baby. “It is very satisfying. But mothers should start using a breast pump early and introduce the baby to feeding in a bottle. This helps even if the mother is away for a short period.”

Source - The Hindu.