Born and brought up in a small town in Bangalore, Snigdha Majumdar’s education took her to a couple of cities around the country before she settled in Bangalore with her first job. The city also became home from the first day at work, the day she met her partner too. In the 10 years together, they travelled a lot, got married, bought a car and moved into their own house. Then they took a pause with a dream to extend their family and welcoming Meera into their lives in 2019.
1. With the thought that breastfeeding happens naturally, a lot of folks tend to skip prenatal classes. But you did. What did you think of it?
Yes, I attended a session arranged by the hospital and when they emphasised on breastfeeding and its importance, I kept thinking why does this require a session. I did not see anyone breastfeed in the family or friend’s circle but shouldn’t it be the only way?
Apart from the sessions, I was asked by a friend to keep my nipples soft using coconut oil. The gynaecologist said I have flat nipples so I should keep massaging it. Some friends asked to keep a pump in the hospital bag which I did not because I had plans of direct feeding.
2. The WHO recommends nursing within the golden hour – first hour post birth. Did it happen for you?
Yes! I was checked by the nurses. They said I was getting colostrum and immediately got the baby to latch. Due to flat nipples, they said a lot of massaging was required and also suggested using syringes to pull it out. Challenges began from the 4th or 5th session. She kept crying inconsolably, unable to latch, breaking my confidence. The Lactation Consultant (LC) at the hospital suggested using a nipple shield. They even gave us a pump to express milk and feed Meera.
3. Did it get better with the nipple shield once back home?
Till date, since Meera was born, the first night at home was the worst! It was the month of January and the temperature at home wasn’t controlled. She just wasn’t able to latch and I had to express and feed her. Leaking breasts, a crying baby and all the chaos around made me extremely uncomfortable.
From the next day, we slowly started getting used to the nipple shield but it was always a hit and miss. Some sessions were okay and some were not. We even bought a pump and bottle to give her formula.
4. The first day at home has gotten to lot of us so I understand how it must have been for you. What happened next?
Well, Meera was fed expressed milk via bottle. She was getting enough except for those one-off days when my supply couldn’t meet her demand. In the entire week, she was given formula 3-4 times.
I couldn’t get the timing right and she would be extremely hungry yet cranky at the breast. It was difficult to calm her to take the breast.
5. What possibly seemed like the way forward, suddenly wasn’t. The difficult phase did not end there.
Like they say, when it rains it pours. I joined the facebook group, Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers (BSIM) on the 10th day. I realised a lot of it shouldn’t have happened – pumping so early and introducing the bottle to Meera. But it was late already (or so I thought!). All that pumping led to over production.
When Meera turned a month old, we had stepped out for lunch. After all that was happening, it was a welcome change. But what followed was craziness. When we were out, I did not nurse or pump for a good 3-4 hours. It started with a severe headache and by the time I got home I had high grade fever. I expressed and fed Meera but the fever wasn’t budging.
Being a Sunday, my doctor was unavailable and I was asked to go into the hospital emergency. Thanks to clogged ducts, I was sent home with a big list of medications. Things got better in 2-3 days but I realised all this nipple shield feeding, pumping and sterilising is not working for us.
That was the day I found you on BSIM.
6. It has been 2 years but I still remember that day clearly. But for the benefit of our readers, you will need to elaborate.
Till this day, I cannot thank my stars enough for having met you. Meera was in her 6th week when Sapna came home. She gave me the much-required confidence. She just took off the nipple shield and made the baby nurse. Meera was very co-operative too. I was pleasantly surprised that it was that easy. In that hour, Sapna helped me latch her on both sides to make sure I was doing it right as I had an over active letdown too due to the pumping.
And then we did another round of latching on both sides with Sapna just watching and not stepping in to help so I could trust myself to do this.
7. You both were wonderful, learnt the latch on the word-go. And yes, all of this was possible because Meera let us. What happened after I left?
In the next 2-3 weeks, I gradually weaned Meera off the bottle. We kept practising and Meera supported me. Fast forward to 28 months, we are still breastfeeding. In the past 2 years, we managed to move to exclusive breastfeeding, nursed through dengue while I was on drips and even created a stash when I went back to work before the pandemic.
8. Do you have a plan on when you would be weaning her?
No way! I plan to let her self-wean. In fact, it was not even a possibility when the initial phase of covid vaccinations did not include lactating mothers.
Meera herself has reduced her feeds to nights and early mornings. Just to ensure she is getting her dose of liquid gold, I do check in with her if she is getting anything and she says, YES!
At this point, I have to mention that it was my husband who stood like a pillar beside me, catching me every time I fell. He encouraged me to nurse in public and his support has helped my decision to nurse to term.
9. Do you face any challenges with nursing a toddler?
Cluster feeding is something I go through even now. But I am grateful to have a supportive family who takes care of everything else while I attend to her.
There have been a few instances where I did have aversions. Going out of sight for an hour or two helped maintain my sanity and go back to breastfeeding her.
BSIM has been my crying corner and the support has taken away the loneliness. And Sapna, you are an angel to my family. I would have definitely given up long back if not for you.
10. Having gone through a difficult start, what is your suggestion for new parents?
I was confident that I had it all in control and did not take help from my mom. Be open to ask for help. It won’t hurt. Also, since we have alternatives, we tend to easily give in thinking we will fix the problem tomorrow. But it gets tougher and impacts your supply as well.
