Formula to Breast: Breastfeeding Journey
Sanyukta Bardhan completed her graduation in Commerce from Calcutta University. Although she always wanted to pursue a career in fashion designing and creative art, she moved on to learn digital designing for Arena Animation Academy. She also completed a course in Montessori and taught for 2 years. Sanyukta has hosted a couple of television shows before her marriage. Post-marriage she joined advertising and had her heart set on it. When her elder daughter was born, Sanyukta chose to quit her job of 5 years and has been a Stay At Home Mum (SAHM) ever since. She is now slowly beginning to learn and work on handmade objects and is looking forward to develop it into a business someday. Read on to know her journey from formula to breast. 1. Your breastfeeding journey with your older daughter was far from what you had expected. What went wrong? I had an unnecessary C-section when my older daughter was born. It seemed quite normal back then because I was pretty young and whatever the doctor said seemed just right. He asked me if I preferred a certain date to deliver my baby. I nodded, and out came my first bundle of joy. With almost zero knowledge about breastfeeding and the lack of guidance, I didn’t even know how to establish a breastfeeding relation with her. They dint give me my child after birth but brought her for feeds at an interval of 4 to 5 hours. Obviously I wasn’t lactating and the baby was taken away from me only to be brought back during visiting hours. The hospital had most definitely started delivering formula and I had little or no say in it. The guilt of not being able to breastfeed was killing me. I was made to believe that I wasn’t capable of nursing. I wasn’t bothered and kept trying to hand express but milk had still not come in. The baby we brought home would be so calm and rarely demand feeds. Dehydration led to jaundice and a couple of tests revealed that she was lactose intolerant, was in danger zone and had to be hospitalised as soon as possible. By then I had started lactating and was pumping and feeding her at the hospital. The doctor informed us that my milk won’t suit the little one as she was lactose intolerant. That was far from the truth, impossible to say the least, which I learnt later. With a heavy heart, we moved her to formula. The doctor sent her blood samples to Australia because he feared that she maybe Galactosemic which meant that sugar would wreak havoc and the mother’s milk was not even an option. I still had my doubts. So when she was 6 months old we took her to a renowned doctor in Mumbai to check her vitals. She was perfectly fine; no galactosemia and not lactose intolerant under any circumstances. I can’t tell you how happy and devastated I was at the same time. While I was extremely happy that she was perfectly fine, I was heartbroken to have missed out on offering breastmilk to my first child. Now research shows that you can feed your child through any sickness. One can also feed their child even if she’s lactose intolerant by completely eliminating dairy from the mother’s diet. 2. I can’t even begin to imagine what you must have gone through. I am sorry you had a very hard start. So, when it came to your younger daughter were you well armed with information? I did not read up much during pregnancy as I was expecting it to be natural and easy. Although reading helps to quite an extent, living it up in reality is far different from the knowledge that you gain from reading. I knew I had to breastfeed my child but I wasn’t ready for what lay ahead. With my younger child, again I had a C-section because the doctor didn’t want to take any risk. But this hospital did everything possible to ensure that the child gets breastmilk immediately after delivery. I tried to latch my baby on as much as possible but she wouldn’t. So I requested the nurse to offer formula (she did hesitate) as I needed my baby to have something. The Lactation Counsellor (LC) at the hospital helped to latch baby onto me as much but we were failing. So I frantically started hand expressing and offering breastmilk in bottles. She had jaundice too but recovered within 2 days. After we came home, I started expressing day and night to offer my milk but when I got exhausted I would offer a bottle or two of formula. A great friend added me to the Facebook group, Breastfeeding Support for Indian Mothers (BSIM) and that opened a world of knowledge and information galore on breastfeeding and milk production. I silently read through the posts (on the group) in the first one or two days and then posted on how to go about feeds because hand expressing was wearing me out. The admins took up my case and showered me with the best solutions to go about direct feeds. On a post, Adhunika Prakash (the founder) mentioned that breastmilk works on a supply and demand system; and that got hammered into my brain. Thus, I set out on the journey of weaning my baby off her bottles. As there was a whole lot of work involved in extracting milk, she hated the breast; and loved the bottle due to its fast pace and less work. But hours of dream feeding and constant effort to latch paid off and magic happened one fine day. They gave her the bottle but she kept refusing it and demanded feeds from me. Ta daa, there was no looking back ever since. It involved a lot of cluster feeding and sleepless hours but why complain when you know that your baby is getting the best. 🙂 3. Tell us a little more about how you
Willpower & Perseverance: Breastfeeding Journey
Dia Jadwani is a practising Certified Lactation Counsellor (LC), in Ahmedabad (India). She is an Electronics and Communication engineer with a Masters degree in Engineering Business Management from Warwick University, United Kingdom (U.K). While in London, she also got the opportunity to work for a year at the International Digital Lab. Dia married in 2010 and switched jobs from being a homemaker to a manager at her husband’s hotel. She was a visiting lecturer at the IIPM University before turning into a full-time mom. At present, she’s content with her new designation; a full time mommy and a part time LC. Read Dia Jadwani’s journey to know how her willpower and perseverance kept her going. 1. Dia, although you had a great start to your breastfeeding journey, the bumps were just around the corner. My breastfeeding journey began on 26th June 2014. The start was actually miraculously easy. My baby latched on to me beautifully with very little help of a loving nurse at the hospital. The hospital (doctors and staff) appeared to be supportive of breastfeeding. Well, they even had a box of formula ready to feed the baby. They emphasized on how it was normal to give the baby formula in the first two days post-delivery. The hospital completely lacked the means to counsel a new mother. They told me that it would take few days for the milk to come in. There was nobody to teach me how to latch and its importance in the following days. I was unaware of what to expect in the coming days. I clearly remember how scared I was to leave the hospital with a new-born. Although, she latched on well, I was still scared. I did not know what I was supposed to do or what was expected of me as a mother! Very soon, we met with our line of hurdles; severe engorgement on the third day to De Quervain disease, baby blues (mild postpartum depression (PPD)) and mastitis at 18 months. I could not even lift my baby when I was suffering from De Quervain. It felt like I had seen it all. I was a naïve mother with no knowledge of anything related to breastfeeding as I didn’t read much. The only thing I knew was that I had to breastfeed my daughter for the first six months. My mother and cousin (brother) asked me to do so. And I did it. I live in a nuclear set up and that kind of helped me take decisions without any outside interference. 2. That sounds really rough. How did you motivate yourself to keep going? I struggled due to lack of sleep during growth spurts. I would be up from 1-5 am just nursing, but I wouldn’t budge. And I exclusively breastfed her for six months. Then came the unwanted advice by well-meaning friends and adults to wean her off breast milk by around the tenth month. I even bought formula (1 kg pack) to introduce at 8 months, which eventually got dumped. Something didn’t feel right so I began educating myself about breastfeeding. I started reading and even posted my queries in various Facebook support groups. That led me to a wonderful group, “Breastfeeding support for Indian Mothers (BSIM)”. I got answers to my queries by asking and by reading several posts in the group. I realised so many mothers are nursing their 2 and 3 year olds. It motivated me to go beyond the stipulated breastfeeding timeline made by our society. BSIM changed everything for me in a positive way. It helped me breastfeed my daughter much longer than I had anticipated and I even found a career in it. It is very rarely that we come across a mother who has not been subjected to weaning advice. Do you fall in the rare group? There were so many people coming in with unsolicited advice that it was becoming difficult to function. I was bombarded with several myths. Eat more ghee and drink more milk to make more milk! Nurse only after an interval of 2 hours else it would cause gas to the baby. I wasn’t allowed to nurse after washing my hair. Basically they just wanted to let the baby cry I guess! If the baby demanded milk frequently or fed for a longer duration I was told that I wasn’t making enough. Looking back, I realised that people love to make a new mother’s life difficult instead of providing actual support. The one myth that affected me the most was feeding at intervals, an advice given by the paediatrician. I believed the doctor as Vihaana (my daughter) was already a colicky baby. I still remember putting her through a difficult time where she would cry and I would watch the clock. My mother had to drive some sense into me when my brain had actually stopped functioning. She reasoned with me and asked.“If you do not feed her then how exactly are you planning to make her quiet? Do you want to start formula? Does your doctor know how to stop a hungry baby from crying when all other methods are exhausted?” That struck a bell! From then, it was only nursing on demand even if it meant just after a gap of 15 minutes. And that was the last time I ever took advice from a paediatrician about breastfeeding. I just followed my instinct as I understood that there was nothing better available than a mother’s own milk. 3. Tell us a little more about the obstacles you faced during breastfeeding. The initial months were based on gut instincts and no support. And I admit, I made mistakes along the way. As most new mothers, I doubted my supply when my daughter nursed like a new born through growth spurts. I dint even know this term back then and ended up having supplements to boost my supply. Religious intake of the supplements for a month led to engorgement and plugged ducts due to oversupply. I
Perfect – Imperfect Journey: Breastfeeding Journey
Priya Kathpal is a nutritionist by profession. She says, “It happened during the college years while exploring career options and interests 🙂 I must mention here that I am a big time foodie at heart. Being a nutritionist actually helps me balance things :P. I can’t really say I was unaware about so and so food effects :D”. Read on to know about Priya Kathpal’s perfect – imperfect breastfeeding journey.
Sailing through hurdles: Breastfeeding Journey
Zoya Khan has two degrees and one masters to her credit; a Bachelors in Technology (B.Tech), Bachelors in Commerce (B.Com) and Masters in Business Administration (MBA). She had the opportunity to work with dyslexic kids and be a part of their life’s journey when she decided to do a few certificate courses. Zoya did a few workshops for teaching special needs children. She counselled parents of differently-abled kids as they weren’t ready to accept them. At one of the meets, she met a person who helped abuse (all kinds) victims. Zoya moved on to assist with counselling them too. After shifting base to Hyderabad (India), she has not been affiliated with any organisation. But Zoya continues to help victims of abuse through online counselings. She is currently pursuing a course in Clinical Psychology. Zoya has also developed her passion in crocheting into a business and CuddliciousZ was born. Her breastfeeding journey was no cakewalk, but sail through the hurdles she did.
A bittersweet journey: Breastfeeding Journey
Raksha Raghavan was born and raised in Bangalore before she moved to Singapore after marriage. She did her engineering in information technology and worked with IBM, Bangalore for around 2.5yrs. After moving to Singapore, she worked for BNP Paribas for 1.5 years before moving to London in the same job for another 2 yrs. Raksha later joined an American bank for 1.5 years before she went on her maternity leave. After the government stipulated leave period of 12 months, she is back to building her career with JP Morgan. Raksha is an avid reader and a crochet artist. She also used to write a lot until a couple of years ago. Apart from the above mentioned Raksha is a crusader for breastfeeding and is a certified Breastfeeding Mother Supporter. Read on to know more about Raksha’s bittersweet breastfeeding journey.
Trust yourself and carry on: Breastfeeding Journey
Sneha Dutta is an Electronics and Communications engineer by education. She was hired by Deloitte Consulting India Pvt Ltd straight from campus. In her 7.5 years with them, Sneha developed into a SAP Human Capital Management consultant. She had several short and long stints abroad but was based out of Hyderabad. Let’s hear it from her, “It was a different life. I was very performance oriented and devoted most of my time to work. Incidentally, the first day of office as a full time employee was when I also met the gentleman who would go on to be my husband.” Read Sneha Dutta’s to know how important it is to trust yourself.
Let it be your decision: Breastfeeding Journey
Uma Bhalerao was born and brought up in Thane (Mumbai, India). She has done her Masters in French, specialising in Translations. She moved to Bangalore in 2006 where she began her career at the Alliance Francaise de Bangalore. Later on, she moved to her job at the French Consulate as the Assistant to the Consul General of France. Uma quit her job after her first born arrived. She is now a stay-at-home-mom (SAHM) to her two adorable sons, Siddharth and Trikay. Uma is a certified Babywearing Educator and does consultations from home to help caregivers learn about the concept of Babywearing. She also runs a small business – The Owl Mama, where she sells customised, hand knit products, designed and knit by her. Uma believes that your decision to breastfeed should not be influenced by anybody.
Breastfeeding And Migraines: Breastfeeding Journey
Dreamer. Technology Enthusiast. Marketer. Traveller. Potter were terms that Dhannya Sreekumar tried using to define herself. But then her daughter came along and motherhood gave her a new Avatar. Slowing down of the 10 years of corporate madness was a blessing in disguise, as it gave her fresh insights and enthusiasm to build https://www.mommypower.in/, a technology driven information platform for new age Indian moms. She now looks for technology led solutions that will make a mom’s life easier and will help her make better decisions for her child. Dhannya’s journey with breastfeeding and migraines is inspiring.
A smooth breastfeeding experience: Breastfeeding Journey
Divya Shori is a Marketing and PR professional. She has a career spanning 12 years and is currently working currently for a MNC which is into Management Consulting. Over the years, she has switched many hats from Support Service to IT to PMO and finally found her passion in Marketing and PR. Divya is a PGDBA in Marketing. She is a doting mother to a 2.5 year old girl, Vanshika. Divya is one of the lucky mothers to have a smooth breastfeeding experience.
Breastfeeding instincts, allergies & more: Breastfeeding Journey
Shyamala Sathiaseelan loves to travel and she considers herself a nomad. She finished her Engineering in Computer Science in 1994 from Coimbatore. Shyamala worked in the IT industry for 14 years before quitting her job to take care of her children. She tried her hand at teaching, interpreting and writing before she ended up becoming a lactation consultant (LC). Read on to know how Shyamala stuck to her breastfeeding instincts with both her children to nurse them to term.
