National Breastfeeding Week, observed throughout August by over 120 countries, is supported by the World Health Organisation and celebrated by Singapore mums
Breast is best.
Breast milk is the best start in life a mother can give her baby, say its legions of advocates.
They range from individuals like Ms Kang Phaik Gaik, senior parent craft and lactation consultant at Mount Alvernia Hospital, to the World Health Organisation.
Singapore's Health Promotion Board (HPB) advises mothers to breastfeed babies exclusively for at least six months.
Ms Violet Teo, 33, a mother of a two-year-old boy and a five-month-old girl, has gone one better: She is breastfeeding both children - a rarity, going by national statistics.
HPB's national survey on breastfeeding in 2001 found that while 95 per cent of mothers breastfed their babies after delivery, only 21 per cent continued breastfeeding at the six-month mark.
A KK Women's and Children's Hospital survey on 922 mothers in 2004 yielded similar results. After six months, only 28 per cent of those mothers were still breastfeeding.
Ms Teo, an administrative executive, said: 'Breast milk is full of antibodies not found in infant formulae. After my confinement, I had chicken pox. My baby girl did too but recovered within a week.'
Agreeing, Breastfeeding Mothers' Support Group (BMSG) counsellor Ms Leong Lai Peng said: 'Breast milk is a dynamic nutritional source which changes daily and sometimes even hourly to meet the unique needs of the baby.'
There are good reasons breast milk is best: It contains over 300 ingredients, the major ones being protein, fat, water, carbohydrates, enzymes, vitamins, minerals, hormones and growth factors.
It has all the nutrients for baby's first six months. Breastfed babies under six months old do not need additional food or water sources.
Antibodies, anti-bacterial and anti-viral factors in breast milk protect the infant from infectious diseases and reduce the risk of chronic diseases like diabetes and obesity.
Mums also benefit by returning to their pre-pregnancy figures faster as lactation burns up at least 700 additional calories per day. Breastfeeding also reduces their risk of developing pre-menopausal breast cancer, ovarian cancer, osteoporosis and chronic diseases like diabetes.
Mount Alvernia's Ms Kang said: 'Kiasu Singaporean parents want intelligent children, so mothers should breastfeed them as that enhances eye and brain development.'
Mrs Doris Fok, senior clinical research coordinator and lactation consultant at the National University Hospital, added: 'It's good for mother-child bonding as it gives the baby warmth and security.'
Breastfeeding may sound like maternal manna but some new mums do have their worries.
Ms Lena Goh, 30, BMSG's secretary, said: 'It's a natural process but it still needs to be learnt. Practice makes perfect.'
When correctly done, the infant's mouth covers most of the areola and his lips are flat out. The mother also feels her nipple tugged forward into the infant's mouth and hears his suckling and swallowing sounds.
Common problems encountered include sore or cracked nipples, blocked milk ducts, engorged breasts and lack of milk.
Sore or cracked nipples can occur when infants are placed wrongly in relation to the mother's breast or when they latch on poorly. Mothers could seek help - from support groups, nurses or lactation consultants - to learn how to latch the baby onto the breast properly.
Engorgement can occur when feeding frequency drops. Excess milk accumulates, with the breasts becoming full, hard and tender. This may require nursing the baby, or expressing the milk, more often.
Another worry is whether enough breast milk is being produced.
In fact, babies are born with reserves and do not need much milk in the first three days after birth. Also, their stomach capacity only grows to 10ml on the third day.
After delivery, colostrum, which is commonly dubbed liquid gold and is early milk rich with antibodies, is produced by the mother. A few tablespoons of the thick liquid are all a baby needs every two to three hours during the first few days.
Ms Cynthia Pang, senior lactation consultant at KK Women's and Children's Hospital, said a mother's body will adjust to the baby's routine and nutritional demands. She said: 'Regular breastfeeding will usually be able to ensure adequate milk supply. As the baby's demands increase, the milk supply increases.'
One gauge of whether a breastfed infant is getting sufficient nutrition are his stool and urine, lactation consultants told Mind Your Body.
Ms Leong said: 'If the baby wets the nappy six to eight times a day after the first week, the mother's milk output is sufficient.'
Mrs Fok added: 'On the fourth day, the baby's stool colour must have changed from black or dark green to yellow, like curry.'
Start early and feed on demand, the consultants said.
Ms Kang explained: 'Start within the first hour of birth as the baby's suckling reflex is the strongest then.'
They also said that among mothers who should not or are unable to breastfeed would be those with conditions such as drug, smoking or alcohol addictions, the HIV virus, active, untreated tuberculosis and those undergoing treatment for cancer.
There are also healthy mothers who are unable to breastfeed.
Among them is Ms Lilian Lee, 27, a teacher who gave birth to a girl in June. She suffered a severe breast infection after 11/2 weeks of breastfeeding. (See story on page 14)
Work-related factors like the lack of facilities at the workplace are reasons too. Ms Fa'izah Ahmad, 30, a breastfeeding mum who pumps her breast milk at work, said: 'Employers need to be more understanding. More education and information about breastfeeding is needed.
Mums return to their pre-pregnancy figures faster as lactation burns up at least 700 additional calories per day.
"Kiasu Singaporean parents want intelligent children, so mothers should breastfeed them as that enhances eye and brain development."- Lactation consultant Kang Phaik Gaik.
For more information on breastfeeding, log on to www.abas.com.sg or www.breastfeeding.org.sg
junec@sph.com.sg
This article was published in Mind Your Body, The Straits Times on August 21, 2008.
