In the past decades, women who breastfed their babies were looked down upon and seen as unfashionable. Well, nowadays, the tide has turned and studies have revealed that breastfeeding is in fact not only fashionable, but the best way to ensure your child’s optimum growth and survival. In the recent launch of PGH’s Milk Bank and Breastfeeding Gazebo, I was blessed to be in the company of the famous artists Araceli Dans and Anita Magsaysay-Ho, who, by the way, donated P1 million for the project. They, together with the other PGH (born) babies, also showcased their works of art to be able to gather additional funds for the building of the Breastfeeding Gazebo. What beautiful works of art in support of breastfeeding. Dans was a joy to be with. She proudly shared with me how she managed to breastfeed her 10 children, who all turned out bright and beautiful, and the joys of having given her children the best a mother can give. Her works also showcased breastfeeding mothers at their sexiest!
During the program, when I was suddenly invited to say a few words about breastfeeding, I shared a miraculous time that happened six years ago when I had just given birth to my youngest son, Benjamin. I got a request to donate my milk to my husband’s friend Rosanna Henares-Angeles’s one-pound, pre-term baby. Uno, as I was told by Rosanna, could only survive on breast milk. Since he had to be carefully monitored and kept in the incubator, his mother’s breast couldn’t be stimulated enough to produce breast milk. Because of that, Rosanna was forced to literally beg for breast milk! I remember her telling me that she went as far as Tarlac to pick up newly pumped breast milk. Since then, I had dedicated one breast for Uno and the other for my 10-pound-born son, Benj. Since my son was huge, he had a great demand for milk, which made me produce tons of milk and incredibly more than he could consume, so there was more than enough to give to Uno.
What blows my mind even up to this day is a call my ob-gyne, Dr. Mene Reyes, made to ask if I knew anyone who was in need of milk. Apparently, her patient was in dire need of help because she had an oversupply of milk and suffered tremendously from backaches, engorgement, fever, etc. Wasn’t that just perfect timing? I don’t call that a coincidence or an accident. That’s divine intervention at work in this day and age! I gave Rosanna a call, asked her to come over my house, and invited my doctor’s patient to meet Rosanna and there, I had the privilege of witnessing a miracle. As Rosanna held the collecting bottle, she was awed at every drop that could add life to her precious Uno. At the same time, my doctor’s patient (God bless her wherever she is right now — I completely forgot her name) was so relieved and thankful to have the excess supply of milk finally expressed and on its way to being put to good use. Uno is now six years old and continues to be a living testimony of God’s goodness at work through the offering made by different mothers who believed that breast milk is best.
Rosanna, for her part, started her own version of a milk bank, which continues to be a source for many mothers in search of the answer to their child’s survival. Though the doctors have never met her, hers is a name constantly brought up at the PGH’s neonatal intensive care unit. Now that PGH has its own human milk bank and a pasteurizer on its way to assure safe and clean donated breast milk for needy infants, there’s more hope for more babies. Breastfeeding within the first hour of birth can save more than one million babies. Now, what could be cooler than that? Breast milk is best for babies, period. Breastfeed your babies exclusively for at least six months, and you can continue to do so for up to two years. The more you breastfeed, the more milk you will produce. You can also donate to needy pre-term infants whose lives can be saved. That’s what’s so cool about breastfeeding!
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E-mail the author at mommytalk@businessworks.com.ph.