Ready, get set... no go? Breastfeeding - usually a natural process - may not come easily to all mothers.
First-time mother Ms Lilian Lee is one such person.
The eager new mum of a two-month-old baby girl started on breastfeeding as soon as her infant was born but she was forced to stop 11/2 weeks later.
The 27-year-old teacher said: 'I'd wanted to breastfeed as long as I could but I soon experienced engorged breasts. They got very hard, painful and red.'
She had developed mastitis, an inflammation within the breasts. Her doctor gave her antibiotics to clear the bacteria infecting the plugged milk duct in her left breast and she had to stop breastfeeding because of the medication.
The mastitis was caused by bacteria entering the milk duct through her cracked nipples, which occurred when her infant did not latch onto her breasts properly.
She recovered and returned to breastfeeding her baby. However, Ms Lee then came down with a 40 deg C fever and another bout of mastitis.
It was back to the hospital for the mother. This time, the doctors said an abscess had formed in her left breast.
A breast abscess is a local accumulation of pus within the breast due to infection.
The abscess had to be drained six times before her breast healed. Although that infection is now cleared, Ms Lee still needs to be scheduled for an ultrasound breast scan to determine the condition of her left breast later this year .
She has stopped breastfeeding her baby completely and is currently on medication to stop lactation.
Her painful experience has put her off breastfeeding her children in future.
She said: 'I'm a young mother and I had this painful and traumatic experience. Yet I see mothers all around me and they're all right with breastfeeding.'
She is now feeding her baby infant formula, an alternative which costs her more than $150 a month.
'Initially, I was sad I couldn't breastfeed my baby but my husband encouraged me by saying that formula milk is also very good as it has all sorts of added vitamins and minerals.
'I see my girl growing well with it, so I feel less guilty now.'
Singapore's Health Promotion Board advises mothers to breastfeed babies exclusively for at least 6 months
This article was first published in Mind Your Body in The Straits Times on August 21, 2008.
