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Some mums are unable to feed their babies breastmilk for reasons ranging from stress to medical issues
If Brazilian supermodel Gisele Bundchen had her way, housewife Cindy Kok would probably be thrown into jail. Bundchen, 30, recently told Harper’s Bazaar UK magazine that she thought there should be a worldwide law for mothers to breastfeed their babies for six months.
If governments heeded her advice, Mrs Kok, 36, would have been charged. Six years ago, she had already slapped herself with a guilty sentence when she could not breastfeed her elder daughter Kelly.
Mrs Kok had mastitis, a bacteria infection of the breast tissues, which commonly affects nursing mothers. Symptoms include soreness of the affected breast, high fever and fatigue. Says Mrs Kok, who is still visibly frustrated by the memory: “I felt guilty and less of a mum. It was a personal failure, not being able to provide for my child.”
Exhausted from fighting the infection, she stopped breastfeeding Kelly after two months. Bundchen has since backed down over her remarks, after sparking a global outcry. But, closer to home, Indonesia has introduced a law which stipulates that all babies should be breastfed for the first six months of life.
This has renewed the to-boob-or not-to-boob debate. The nutritional and emotional benefits associated with breastfeeding have been well-publicised and few mothers need convincing that, as the awareness tagline goes, “breast is best”.
But some women cannot breastfeed for a number of reasons: from emotional stress, inverted nipples, damaged milk ducts after breast surgery, to medical conditions such as cancer and Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV).
Inverted nipples, which are difficult for babies, may be an initial stumbling block. Mrs Wong Boh Boi, assistant director of clinical services at the Thomson ParentCraft Centre at Thomson Medical Centre, says the condition can be detected at prenatal check-ups. Wearing a small device called a niplette during the second trimester can help pull the nipple out.
Dr Yong Tze Tein, obstetrics and gynaecology consultant at the Singapore General Hospital, explains that a HIV-positive mum may pass on the virus to her baby through her milk. If a mother is undergoing chemotherapy for cancer, toxins from certain drugs may enter the milk and affect the baby's development.
Dr Yong, who is also president of the Association for Breastfeeding Advocacy (Singapore), adds: “Women who have undergone a breast reduction surgery may also have their milk ducts cut off.” In addition, premature babies’ swallowing and sucking co-ordination may not be as developed as those of full-term infants.
Other newborns may be too small, or have congenital conditions such as a cleft palate that prevent them from feeding efficiently from the breast.
Madam Teng Meng Hoon, 38, had a shock when her paediatrician discovered that her second child Alysha, who had been exclusively breastfed up till then, not only did not gain any weight, but lost 100g a month after birth – from 2.4kg to 2.3kg.
Alysha’s mouth was too small for her to suckle properly and she was not taking in enough milk from the breast. As a result, Madam Teng’s milk supply decreased. “I was very worried. I felt that it was my oversight that my child was being deprived of the best infant food,” says Madam Teng, a vice-president at a global investment bank.
She had no problem breastfeeding her elder daughter Adelle, six, until the girl was 31/2 years old. With encouragement from lactation consultants, she increased her milk supply from 200ml to 800ml a day. Now three months old, Alysha nurses at her mother’s breast and drinks expressed breastmilk in a bottle, and has gained 2.1kg.
Ms Cynthia Pang, a nursing and lactation consultant at KK Women’s and Children’s Hospital, says a mum needs to understand that some situations may be beyond her control.
Expressing breastmilk to feed baby
“A mother who cannot breastfeed can focus and bond with her baby by caring for the other needs of her baby,” she says. In the case of babies who take longer to learn how to feed efficiently, she advises that their mothers express breastmilk regularly, until they can breastfeed directly.
Looking back, Mrs Kok attributes her emotional turmoil at the time to overt pressure from the mass media, well-meaning doctors and the society, on mothers to breastfeed. “The media makes breastfeeding sound so easy. Hence many first-time mums will question themselves if what they are doing is wrong.”
Determined to succeed at breastfeeding when she became a mother again, she quit her job as a public relations manager during her second pregnancy in 2007 to focus on motherhood.
Armed with experience, she managed to breastfeed her younger daughter Clara, now two, for a year. She says: “I had a sense of achievement that I was able to provide for my child after having tried so hard the first time. I was happy that I could share the bond with my daughter.” She adds: “I realised I was not a failure. It was just that I wasn’t prepared and everything was against me the first time.”
Sources: Mrs Angeline Wee-Yew, president of Breastfeeding Mothers’ Support Group (Singapore); Mrs Wong Boh Boi, assistant director of clinical services at the Thomson ParentCraft Centre at Thomson Medical Centre; Dr Yong Tze Tein, obstetrics & gynaecology consultant at the Singapore General Hospital and president of the Association for Breastfeeding Advocacy (Singapore)
Ref: V10
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