My breast feeding journey and how I started Relactating!

One day before my daughter Prisha was born I told my mother that ‘I’m missing work and I can’t wait to resume’. My mother laughed it off and said ‘How can you think of this a few days before your delivery? You should resume work but let the baby come first!’.

Once my daughter, Prisha was born a whole different set of emotions ran through me. New feelings of selfless love, compassion, motherhood, protectiveness for my child suddenly arose from some hidden corner in my heart. I still remember the moment when she first came onto my breast to feed at the hospital, she softly suckled, it was surely the most treasured moment of my life. I had thought of breast feeding as long as I could but that time I didn't know what was in store for me!

There came many bumps along my breastfeeding journey. I had a C-section and I didn't lactate immediately. Prisha was given formula for 1 week at the hospital along with my milk. But I was persistent and I continued to latch her on so she would suckle to increase the milk supply. What affected me the most was that people always discouraged me and told me I didn't lactate enough. But I knew I had to breastfeed my daughter and I kept at it, and after 1 week when I got back home, my milk flow was established and she was completely on breast milk!

During my breastfeeding journey I developed a very strong and special bond with her. It was our special mother and daughter time. Initially my nipples used to be cracked and sore, lanolin nipple cream was my best friend during those days. Prisha always fed at 2 hour intervals during the day and at night! I have woken up every 2 hours at night to breastfeed her and yes, it has been difficult. But since breastfeeding has so many benefits it didn’t bother as much, and I knew this is something I have to do.

Breast feeding has innumerable benefits but to mention a few –

• It helps establish antibodies in the infant
• It builds the child’s immunity, and it has all the essential nutrient that the infant requires for development, and its easy for the infant to digest as well.
• WHO recommends breastfeeding for 2 years and beyond.

Breast feeding should be done exclusively for 6 months. Post 6 months when I started with solids I attended Seema Kazi’s Weaning Class and that really helped me get some direction with how to start solids. At around 8 months she really helped me get Prisha off pureed food and start eating chunkier food preparations.

At 9 months I had a serious fungal infection in my breasts, along with some skin issue. I visited many doctors and was really struggling with breastfeeding. After 2 months, I still could not find any solution and I was advised to stop breastfeeding. I was devastated, I can’t express the depression that I felt at that moment. I tried expressing milk as well for a week and feeding her. I had breast milk stored in the freezer for a rainy day and I used that as well. My nipples were cracked, with all medicines and the pumping. I also tried using a nipple shield but finally, I had to stop!

The 2 weeks that followed were very crucial and things panned out differently from what I expected. I could not come to terms with the fact that I had to stop breastfeeding abruptly because of some health issue. I finally went to a skin specialist and he had some insights that really helped me, and his treatment resolved my health issue finally. But I was still seriously depressed since I had stopped breastfeeding completely. During this time, I attended a workshop by my cousin sister Shweta Chawla who is a Pediatrician and I told her my whole story. That one afternoon in her clinic, she and her colleagues changed my life. They really encouraged me to start breastfeeding again. I was quite surprised at the suggestion and I thought how would the milk supply start again?

I followed her guidance and for the 1st week, when I latched her on she would really cry because of no milk supply, she also bit me many times in frustration. But we kept trying and finally after 2 weeks or so my breasts started feeling full again. Mentally and physically it took a toll on me but finally we achieved it! So I continued to breastfeed her for 20 happy months.

What I learned from my journey was that if your mentally determined to breastfeed, you should not get affected by what people might have to say about your milk supply. Loads of skin to skin activities really help in bonding with the baby which is vital for establishing milk supply. Recent studies support this idea. I always massage her and give her a bath, sing to her, dance with her, cuddle and slept with her. In India, generally it is a practice for massage ladies to massage the baby, but I was really was not in support of this. Even recent studies show that if the newborn feels the maternal touch and hears the maternal voice, it helps to develop a strong mother-infant bond. Singing lullabies to your baby also proves to comfort them very well. Breast crawl soon after delivery is also a very important bonding step, where the baby crawls to the mother’s breast by smell and suckles for the first time. There are many benefits to early-life maternal bonding and breastfeeding, the children to grow up to be more secure, happy and independent adults. Breastfeeding improves cognitive development from infancy to adolescence.

In this fast paced and tech saavy world, lets slow down and spend time to bond with our infants! If my journey encouraged even a single mother to adopt breastfeeding, I will feel I made a difference. Happy Breastfeeding Week.