In late January, a young mom came to Sunday worship with an extremely tiny, malnourished and sick baby in arms. Baby J was clearly very dehydrated and lethargic and her eyes were full of gunk from infection. I figured she must be a few weeks old. I was shocked when C told me that the baby was already two months old. Born premature in November with a birth weight of 1.2 kg (2 lbs, 10 oz), C told me how her baby now weighed less than 2 pounds. She told me how she had brought the baby to the local health center and was told to put the baby on formula and sent home.
They couldn't afford to go to a doctor so they came to us. Her brother is also a part of our church community and I had met this young gal back when her first child was an infant. I am so glad she came on this day. I knew that without proper intervention the baby would not last long. When I told her and her partner how serious the situation was and how she needed to get the baby to hospital that very day, she drew her tiny baby up to her face and wept, clearly very worried.
Baby J spent just over a week in the public hospital and was treated for dehydration, pneumonia and sepsis. She responded well. But with insufficient breast milk, C relied on formula she couldn't afford to feed Baby J.
Sometime in February a midwife friend of mine and I began visiting C in her home each week. With the help of a local doctor who saw them for free, both of C's babies were able to get check ups and medicine for some nagging chest infections. I really wanted to help her increase her breast milk. Seeing Baby J recover from a critical level of malnutrition and seeing the tiny shack where they lived confirmed to me how essential it was to get this baby off formula. And aside from the obvious reasons for breastfeeding, there was a powerfully motivating economic reason. They just could not afford it - especially in light of C's 18-month-old daughter, who was malnourished and not yet walking. If we could get C breastfeeding Baby J exclusively then they can use her husband's small salary for food and not waste it on formula. And they barely have enough money for food.
I have seen numerous moms in the Philippines go from exclusive breastfeeding to "mixed feeding" because of a perceived and sometimes a real lack of breast milk. Breastfeeding is not always easy and often takes a lot of work in the beginning to get things going. When a new mom fears she doesn't have enough for her baby, it impacts her confidence and without any support you can see why poor women here feel they need to supplement with formula. (Why most middle-upper class women don't breastfeed here is another issue.) The baby is given formula from a bottle and there is even less stimulation to the breast and then the milk supply doesn't even have a chance to build. Formula helps to satisfy a screaming, hungry baby but it is counterproductive to exclusive breastfeeding. Everyone knows that breastfeeding is best but it's the how that is lacking. Many women want to breast feed and know they should but often lack the support to do so successfully.
I spent some time with C and Baby J and witnessed for myself that C really wasn't producing enough. We had her feeding on demand and hand expressing in between but we found that after getting formula from a bottle, baby J was becoming less willing to do the work at the breast to get milk. So we took the bottle away and had her and her partner work together to supplement while baby J was at the breast with the use of a large syringe and tiny feeding tube that was placed in the side of baby J's mouth as she suckled at the breast. They only gave formula when baby J was not able to get enough at the breast.
The result was remarkable! It took several weeks and lots of prayer and encouragement, but C was able to reduce the amount of formula given to baby J from 8 ounces per day, to 4, to 3, to ZERO!!!
As of last week, she reported to me with a big smile on her face that she didn't need to give formula anymore. She told me that baby J is now satisfied with just her milk. The change in C's countenance as she told me this was indicative of the confidence and pride she was now feeling at her ability to care for and feed her baby.
I am SO, so delighted at this I just had to share it with all of you.
Here's a photo (shared with permission) of C and baby J just a few days ago. I am happy to report that baby J is thriving and now weighs over 5 kg (11 lbs). C's other child is also doing well. We've been helping with things on the nutrition side and she is gaining weight and is now walking. And C is getting help with family planning.
They couldn't afford to go to a doctor so they came to us. Her brother is also a part of our church community and I had met this young gal back when her first child was an infant. I am so glad she came on this day. I knew that without proper intervention the baby would not last long. When I told her and her partner how serious the situation was and how she needed to get the baby to hospital that very day, she drew her tiny baby up to her face and wept, clearly very worried.
Baby J spent just over a week in the public hospital and was treated for dehydration, pneumonia and sepsis. She responded well. But with insufficient breast milk, C relied on formula she couldn't afford to feed Baby J.
Sometime in February a midwife friend of mine and I began visiting C in her home each week. With the help of a local doctor who saw them for free, both of C's babies were able to get check ups and medicine for some nagging chest infections. I really wanted to help her increase her breast milk. Seeing Baby J recover from a critical level of malnutrition and seeing the tiny shack where they lived confirmed to me how essential it was to get this baby off formula. And aside from the obvious reasons for breastfeeding, there was a powerfully motivating economic reason. They just could not afford it - especially in light of C's 18-month-old daughter, who was malnourished and not yet walking. If we could get C breastfeeding Baby J exclusively then they can use her husband's small salary for food and not waste it on formula. And they barely have enough money for food.
I have seen numerous moms in the Philippines go from exclusive breastfeeding to "mixed feeding" because of a perceived and sometimes a real lack of breast milk. Breastfeeding is not always easy and often takes a lot of work in the beginning to get things going. When a new mom fears she doesn't have enough for her baby, it impacts her confidence and without any support you can see why poor women here feel they need to supplement with formula. (Why most middle-upper class women don't breastfeed here is another issue.) The baby is given formula from a bottle and there is even less stimulation to the breast and then the milk supply doesn't even have a chance to build. Formula helps to satisfy a screaming, hungry baby but it is counterproductive to exclusive breastfeeding. Everyone knows that breastfeeding is best but it's the how that is lacking. Many women want to breast feed and know they should but often lack the support to do so successfully.
I spent some time with C and Baby J and witnessed for myself that C really wasn't producing enough. We had her feeding on demand and hand expressing in between but we found that after getting formula from a bottle, baby J was becoming less willing to do the work at the breast to get milk. So we took the bottle away and had her and her partner work together to supplement while baby J was at the breast with the use of a large syringe and tiny feeding tube that was placed in the side of baby J's mouth as she suckled at the breast. They only gave formula when baby J was not able to get enough at the breast.
The result was remarkable! It took several weeks and lots of prayer and encouragement, but C was able to reduce the amount of formula given to baby J from 8 ounces per day, to 4, to 3, to ZERO!!!
As of last week, she reported to me with a big smile on her face that she didn't need to give formula anymore. She told me that baby J is now satisfied with just her milk. The change in C's countenance as she told me this was indicative of the confidence and pride she was now feeling at her ability to care for and feed her baby.
I am SO, so delighted at this I just had to share it with all of you.
Here's a photo (shared with permission) of C and baby J just a few days ago. I am happy to report that baby J is thriving and now weighs over 5 kg (11 lbs). C's other child is also doing well. We've been helping with things on the nutrition side and she is gaining weight and is now walking. And C is getting help with family planning.
