Breast is best: moms tell their inspiring stories
While breastfeeding is the most natural thing in the world, some moms face issues that make it hard for them to do so. Sometimes, their babies find it hard to latch onto their breasts. Other times, their milk supply is lacking. Still others face health problems.
Their determination to overcome these hurdles (instead of giving up and opting to bottlefeed) is the subject of a new photo exhibit that launches today, August 15, at the SM Mall of Asia. Mounted in cooperation with Yahoo! SHE Philippines, KAYA Women Empowerment and Support Group and LIFE by Imagine Nation Photography, the exhibit coincides with World Breastfeeding Month.
It features 17 nursing moms dressed in traditional Filipino costumes, together with their inspiring accounts of how they prevailed over personal odds. “Breastfeeding Pinays and their Miracle Stories” will run at the SM Mall of Asia Music Hall and South Pavilion until August 22.
The rainbow after a life-changing storm
After baby Clyde was born, he refused to latch on to mom Vesta Villena-Laserna because the Unang Yakap protocol was not followed. Each night, Vesta attempted to make her baby latch in vain and would always end up bottle-feeding him expressed milk instead. When Habagat struck in August 2012, Vesta and her family were forced to evacuate their home in Marikina due to heavy rains and dangerous floods. That night, Vesta was getting worried as their temporary lodging didn’t have a refrigerator—forcing her to store her expressed milk only in a cooler. But as they were lying side by side, three-month-old Clyde suddenly latched and started to suckle his mom's breasts. That was the end of their bottle feeding days; worries about sterilizing and storing were gone. This was the most memorable—and life-changing—typhoon that their family has experienced. And it made her believe that there really is a rainbow after a storm.
Signs from the patron saint of breastfeeding moms
Pregnant Edel Obiena-Leonsua spent sleepless nights doubting if she would be able to breastfeed. When she found a picture of Nuestra Señora de la Leche (Mary breastfeeding Jesus), the patron saint of nursing mothers and their infants, on the Internet, she said a fervent prayer. A few days later, she saw a statue of a breastfeeding Mary. From then on, all doubts about being able to successfully breastfeed vanished. When her baby was born, her breast milk was so bountiful that she was able to donate to preemies and to a blue baby. Amazingly, she was even able to help an adult family member deal with health issues through her precious milk.
Breastfeeding heals
"Breastfeeding heals" are words straight from Kaice Cristobal-Romero’s heart. Kaice was diagnosed with severe depression and was on anti-depressants but as soon as her doctor found out about her pregnancy, she was ordered to stop taking her medicines. When she gave birth, direct feeding baby K kept her calm and helped her manage the stress of her work, her school, and her business. Eighteen months post-partum, although Kaice still has her ups and downs, she now thrives without medication as she continues to breastfeed K. Kaice is a living testimony that the benefits of breastfeeding extend beyond the baby's health and to the mommy's as well.
The wet nurse
Cristina "Tin" Gustilo-Cervantes is a proud wet nurse having breastfed over 150 babies. Her most memorable ward was baby Joseph who was constantly sick and could not get the medical clearance for a much-needed surgery. As soon as Tintin started sharing her breast milk with Joseph, he began gaining weight and no longer got sick. In just a few weeks, baby Joseph was able to undergo his heart operation. The miraculous effect of breastfeeding continued even after the operation as Joseph recovered only after three weeks instead of the expected recovery period of two months.
Dealing with baby's health condition.
Amrit Jivan Toor Macaraeg struggled with her first days of breastfeeding but never gave up. Baby Matilda had difficulty latching but Amrit was determined to breastfeed her baby, who was diagnosed with G6PD, a deficiency in an enzyme that helps red blood cells function normally. Amrit knew that the safest way to feed her baby was through breastfeeding, as G6PD can increase the risk of anemia, jaundice and brain dysfunction. Filipinos usually have the mild type of G6PD-deficiency and breastfeeding moms of babies with this condition do not even have to avoid certain foods while they are breastfeeding. Amrit persevered and after some time, she was not only able to breastfeed her baby, she was also able to share her breast milk with other babies as well. Amrit no longer worries about her baby as she knows that she is able to provide Matilda with the nourishment that she needs.
Help from breast milk donors. Adrienne Kristi Babiera-Mendoza has been diagnosed with Systemic Lupus Erythematous (SLE), an autoimmune disease that does not have any cure. Her medications make it impossible to breastfeed baby Elias. In spite of this, the mom and dad team was determined to provide breast milk for their baby, who was born premature at 34 weeks. With the help of generous donors, baby Elias was able to outdo his neonatal intensive care unit "classmates" in terms of progress. Even at past one year old, baby Elias still thrives on the breast milk of donors, with adequate complementary foods. Mommy Adrienne hopes to be able to relactate as soon as she is completely weaned from her medications.
Sharing breast milk with an older son
"Giving up" is not in Cheng Guzman Duran’s vocabulary. She suffered convulsions during her pregnancy, had a hard time making baby Arden latch on to her breast and didn’t produce enough milk. Her baby was mixedfed from birth until his sixth week when Cheng decided to relatch and relactate. After a year, Cheng (who was again pregnant) had to stop breastfeeding because she had contractions. When her second baby Andric was born, and still struggling with her own heath issues, Cheng began to breastfeed like a pro and had enough milk to express and share with her elder son Arden.
Betrayed by the medical system
Mommy Louay Lactao Fabros strongly felt she was repeatedly betrayed by a medical system that did not respect the body's wisdom. She was forced to give birth via C-section which brought not only physical but emotional pain as well and made breastfeeding all the more challenging. The most devastating for her was being told at the hospital that she did not have enough milk for baby Awit. Her breastfeeding miracle came in the form of co-mothers and breastfeeding advocates who shared their wisdom and experiences with her, building her confidence that she indeed could provide milk for her baby. While she feels that her journey is far from over, she persists, because she knows that she is not alone in that path.
The kindness of strangers for premature twins
Seven-and-a-half months into her pregnancy, Mara Red underwent an emergency caesarean section. When she saw her twins sleeping in incubators, she felt a sweeping sadness. Baby Es was small but Baby Zira was one of the tiniest preemies in the nursery. She appealed for help through friends and found generous strangers giving her breast milk. Although she had little herself, Mara expressed her own milk by hand and found she had enough to feed her twins. Es and Zira were sent home after two months in the hospital. They continue to be breastfed more than a year later.
The baby that continued to suckle after major operations
Mommy Pittipat Manzano Chupungco gave birth to a baby girl with Apert Syndrome, a rare genetic disorder marked by a misshapen head and, in some cases, fingers and toes that are fused. Baby Janina also had a high high arch palate that doctors feared would make it difficult for her to latch onto her Mommy’s breast. But baby Janina was born to breastfeed and had a strong fighting spirit. She underwent several major surgeries but continued to suckle from her mom after each procedure. Today, baby Janina is a walking bundle of sunshine, oblivious to the physical differences she has with other kids.
Breastfeeding a 2-year-old and a 5-year-old together
As a first-time mom, Clarice Anne Talavera-Aviñante was frustrated that Jia was only able to drink expressed breast milk for five months. Baby Jia never learned to latch, no thanks to an ill-informed pediatrician. With her second baby Joya, Clarice vowed to give her son the full benefits of direct breastfeeding. When Ate Jia saw her mom breastfeeding her baby brother, she asked if she could also have milk from her mommy's breasts. For the first time three years, Jia latched, suckled, and finally learned to breastfeed. It was moment that was bittersweet and poignant for mommy Clarice. Until then, “catch-up breastfeeding” was something Clarice did not think was possible. She is now tandem feeding 2-year-old Joya and 5-year-old Jia.
Baby’s pneumonia nipped early, thanks to breastfeeding
Abie Co Floreza's plan was to breastfeed baby Raja for only a year. Two weeks before his birthday, he contracted bilateral pneumonia. Baby Raja’s lungs were so congested that his blood oxygen saturation dropped. In the hospital, baby Raja refused to eat or drink anything and insisted on latching. Instead of staying in the hospital for one week, baby Raja's fighting spirit and his breast milk diet saw his lungs clearing and his blood oxygen saturation return to normal on the third day. Abie saw firsthand how breastfeeding nourishes, comforts and heals. This made her realize that whatever reasons or excuses she had for weaning Raja at 12 months were nothing compared to the miracles of breastfeeding. To this day, Abie continues to be a breastfeeding Pinay.
Expressing breast milk in public
Teacher Ting Valdepeñas-Patriarca is a school directress, a Ph.D. candidate, a wife and a hands-on mother. While juggling work, school and running her household, she is still able to give priority to breastfeeding her two children, Tong and Teng. Asthma and allergies run strongly in their family but breastfeeding has greatly reduced the symptoms and severity of her children's conditions. To provide complete and the most protective nutrients for her children, she would express her breast milk inside the classroom, in restaurants, supermarkets, hospitals, movie houses, and in transit. She even expressed milk while having a meeting with parents! Her youngest, Teng, is now 2 and still does not show signs of weaning from breast milk.
A hard lesson learned
Bing Sugue Guevara’s hardest lesson on breastfeeding her eldest son was this: you can’t purely express breast milk and feed it through a bottle. Bing breastfed her first son for only two-and-a-half months. Her second child was born at 26 weeks but died due to multiple congenital defects. But three days after giving birth, Bing's milk began dripping from her breasts without any baby to feed. That moment changed her life. She vowed that her next child would be breastfed and her dream came true. With the cooperation of her OBGyne and pediatrician, she was able to breastfeed right from the first hour following the Unang Yakap protocol. As a working mom, Bing regularly expresses milk in the office and direct feeds her baby at night. At 18 months, baby Rafa still loves to breastfeed.
She provides breast milk in times of calamity
During calamities, tragedies, and emergencies, the first ones to die are the sick, the old and formula-fed babies. Breastfed babies will survive the longest even in the most dire situations. Velvet Escario-Roxas has breastfed several babies in evacuation centers and relactated countless moms to ensure that their babies would survive these devastating moments. This is her life's work. Through it, she hopes to provide breast milk as the miracle food and potent medicine to those who need them most. Her goal: to help one mother at a time, one day at a time.
Babies always ‘hiyang’ to breast milk, unlike formula
Monique Lopez-Ong strongly felt she was a victim of marketing lies and false health claims given to her by the television ads, the media and unfortunately, even by her doctor and the hospital where she gave birth. She was told to give her baby formula and was made to believe that she had no milk. Without her knowing, she was robbed of her spiritual and nutritional right to give the superior milk to her two eldest children. Raising children with formula milk was costly with the additional burden of regular hospital visits and confinements for coughs, colds, measles and other diseases. Formula feeding was also inconvenient as she constantly had to change brands to find which was "hiyang" and wouldn't give her kids allergies. In her third pregnancy, she made sure she would embark on a different path. Enough with the lies! She joined breastfeeding classes and support groups for her third and fourth kids. The miracle of second chances and the fight to know the truth have set her free as she is now able to breastfeed her younger children. Her children are healthier and feeding is a breeze even if she now has to take care of four kids. Knowing how it feels to be a victim, Monique is now embarking on a path to be a breastfeeding defender.
A bad start at breastfeeding turns mom into counselor
First-time mom Rachel Atienza Terrobias did not have a good start with breastfeeding. Suffering from post-partum blues while recovering from a C-section and having no relatives or helpers to assist her, she resorted to mixed feeding baby Coco. With the steadfast support of husband, Ten, and her online friends, she successfully underwent relactation and was able to exclusively breastfeed her son. A few months after, she met a mother with inverted nipples who was undergoing induced lactation for an adopted son. With her success in relactating for Coco, Rachel was able to encourage that mom to exclusively breastfeed her own son. Coco self-weaned at 3.5 years, but the emotional bond that he shares with mommy Rachel that was strengthened by breastfeeding can still be felt by anyone around them. Having witnessed the tremendous effects of breastfeeding, Mommy Rachel is now helping other moms as a trained breastfeeding counselor.
source: http://ph.she.yahoo.com/photos/breast-is-best-moms-tell-their-inspiring-stories-slideshow/monique-lopez-ong-life-by-imagine-nation-photography-photo-1376540037809.html
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