I wasn't producing enough breast milk to fill my newborn baby's tummy. The doctor was reluctant to release us from the hospital, so he called for the big guns. I watched in trepidation as the nurse wheeled it into the room: a state-of the-art, hospital grade, electrically powered, double breast pump. She sat me in a big chair, and attached it to my chest.
For the next hour, the machine tugged at my body, simulating the actions of two giant babies. The idea was to raise the hormones that would bump my milk production to the next level. I knew it was the right thing to do, but I felt like a cow on a modern-day dairy farm.
Struggling to feed my baby
This wasn't how I had pictured new motherhood. Throughout my pregnancy, endless smiling women had assured me that breastfeeding was "the most natural thing in the world." Since time immemorial, artists have portrayed serene mothers calmly nursing their babies. "They must have been painted by men," I muttered to myself as my pumps tugged away without mercy.
Photo in the public domain
On World Breastfeeding Week, my early breastfeeding memories are especially vivid. My milk production slowly increased as the days went by, but I recall crying in pain when I cracked and bled. Worst of all was the fear that my child would go hungry, because I couldn't feed him.
Working at an international aid and development agency, I've learned to put these memories into perspective. True, it was a real battle to eventually get the milk flowing. But there was never any real threat that my baby's health would suffer or that, God forbid, he would die. We had access to a whole team of breastfeeding experts. There was equipment on hand to help my body produce milk. At any point, we could have switched to a safe, highly nutritious infant formula.
The global picture
But for millions of babies around the world, breastfeeding can make the difference between life and death. Every year, nearly 3 million newborn babies die in the first month of life. Breastfeeding challenges are one of the reasons why.
According to the World Health Organization, exclusive breastfeeding is the optimal way of feeding babies for the first six months of their lives. Breast milk is packed with nutrients that a newborn needs to grow strong and healthy, and fight off illness and infection. In regions where water sources are often contaminated and medical clinics are few and far between, nothing beats breastfeeding.
Yet women giving birth in one of the world's poorest regions must often overcome immense obstacles to breastfeed. Here are just a few, starting from conception:
- Mom lacks nutritious food to eat, affecting both the baby's development and her ability to produce milk.
- Mom has few or no prenatal checkups, during which breastfeeding education would normally begin here in Canada.
- Mom has no trained birth attendant to help with delivery, putting both her life and that of her baby at risk.
- Mom is without trained care during the first hours and days of baby's life, as she starts trying to breastfeed. (This was the toughest time for me; I undoubtedly would have given up without support.)
- Mom and baby have little or no follow-up care and support, as she tries to continue breastfeeding.
In Zambia, Dyna had no one to help her begin breastfeeding her newborn son. "I delivered at home, alone," she remembers. "There was no one to even help cut the umbilical cord." Photo courtesy of World Vision
Helping the world's moms to breastfeed
One of reasons I'm so proud to work for World Vision is the programs we provide for pregnant women, newborn babies, and little ones in their first two years of life. Despite all of the challenges, we're seeing more and more moms breastfeeding their babies. It's wonderful to see young mothers, like Mee in Laos, overjoyed at the progress their little ones are making -- partly because breastfeeding worked so well.
Thanks to a World Vision program, Mee, who lived far from her nearest health clinic, received checkups from a mobile health team during pregnancy and after childbirth, including support with breastfeeding. Photo courtesy of World Vision
I'm relieved to know that in emergencies such as earthquakes, we set up special centres for moms and babies, so that breastfeeding can continue uninterrupted during times of immense fear and stress. I recall well how stress can make milk feeding even more difficult.
During Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, centres for mothers and young children gave moms a place to nurse their babies, receive care and counselling, and support one another in breastfeeding. Photo courtesy of World Vision
I was proud to know that thousands more mothers are set to breastfeed their babies, thanks to a project World Vision is now wrapping up in Tanzania. With support from the Government of Canada, our SUSTAIN project helped moms and babies better access care during pregnancy, delivery and those critical first two years of life outside the womb.
Photo courtesy of World Vision
I love that SUSTAIN brought education and support similar to some of what I received here in Canada right to moms and babies who might otherwise have been struggling. I was encouraged to learn that 88 per cent of all mothers in the area are now nourishing their newborns on breast milk alone for the first six months -- up 16 per cent from before. After that, more babies are eating a nutritious diet thanks to continued education about which solid foods to introduce, and help providing those foods when needed.
As my own son enters his teen years, he is now even taller than I am. I feel so grateful for the breastfeeding support I received here in Canada. And excited to know that even in the world's poorest places, babies are getting the same chance.
Add your voice to support healthy lives for all women and children through World Vision Canada's Promise Child Survival campaign
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