MANILA, Philippines — Moms are superheroes, to say the very least. They manage the household, making sure everyone is safe and healthy.
They take care of the older kids who have started their online classes, and they work either full time or on the side to also earn for the family. The list of things they have to do is endless, and many even have to do so while breastfeeding, despite the unique sets of challenges that come with it.
With everything they have to juggle at home and at work, moms can be overwhelmed by parenting duties and taking great care to ensure that everyone around them is okay, that they often forget to look after their own wellbeing.
“Mothers should not be afraid to ask for support when they feel overwhelmed, especially now that we're living in uncertain times. My advice for all moms who are feeling more anxious is to simply relax and give yourself a break. You can't get everything right all the time. You will make mistakes, and that’s okay,” Dr. Anna York Bondoc said at the recent webinar “Mommy, Are You Okay?” organized by wellness brand Sekaya.
“You're not alone in your struggle, and it's okay to feel not okay. What isn’t good is to just keep all these overwhelming emotions to yourself. Seek help and let others support you and lighten your load,” Bondoc added.
During the same discussion, former actress Paula Peralejo-Fernandez shared her challenges of being a breastfeeding mom and how she overcame it with moringa.
According to her, a few days after giving birth to her son Pablo, who just turned four this month, she had no problems breastfeeding him.
“After about two weeks, ayan na, medyo may sumakit na. Actually, within those two weeks, masakit na siya pero parang nung second week, hindi ko na kaya. Gusto ko nang mag-give up. Ang sakit-sakit talaga,” she shared.
Upon going to the doctor, she learned that her son had tongue-tie, which made him harder to latch.
After they had the tongue-tie fixed, after a few months, Paula experienced pain again, this time, due to mastitis, which, according to Bondoc, “is an inflammation of the breasts itself, usually brought about by plugged ducts.”
“Habang bumabara siya, it can't get out and bacteria builds up behind that and that's where the infection starts,” the doctor further explained.
For almost a year, Paula had been going to the Emergency Room and taking antibiotics to cure her mastitis. But then, she had yeast infection, which was more painful and itchy.
Because of these, her immune system went down, until such time that doctors prescribed for her to take moringa again. She stopped taking it due to milk oversupply.
Due to moringa, Paula’s immune system picked up, enabling her to eventually heal from mastitis and yeast infection and to have a steady supply of milk for her son, which is why she breastfeeds him until now.
“It wasn't easy, but yes, I'm glad naman I did it (breastfeeding). I don't regret it,” she enthused.
"When people ask me which part I find most challenging, I always say labor over breastfeeding any day... I mean, with what we went through which I shared here before, our first year was toughest on breastfeeding. I was doing okay in other aspects, but really needed to take care of myself to get through our hardship in breastfeeding," she added in an Instagram post.
As the flagship brand of Synnovate Pharma Corporation, the natural products company of Unilab, Sekaya is intent on “Prescribing Nature” through plant-based functional products that take advantage of all the benefits that nature provides, while backing these up with strong scientific research and pharma-grade processing.
In helping women cope with the challenges of motherhood, Sekaya Food Supplements is a line of natural food supplements that is designed, formulated, and tested with pharma grade standards and 100% sourced and manufactured in the Philippines. First on its roster of products is Organic Moringa.
Traditionally used as a great natural immunity booster, moringa contains vitamin C, calcium, potassium, amino acids, and even anti-inflammatory compounds, making it a good complement to mom’s diet so she’ll have enough energy to juggle all her roles and keep her body healthy to take care of her baby, her family and herself.
Available in Lazada, Zalora and Shopee, the brand’s Organic Moringa is touted as the only 500mg moringa supplement in the Philippines that is certified organic by the European Union, which means it has fulfilled strict conditions on how they’re produced, transported and stored. Made from 100% pure and organic Moringa oleifera leaves powder, it contains no yeast, dairy, egg, gluten, soy, wheat, artificial color, flavor and fragrance.
“Knowing that our primary consumers would be lactating moms, we made sure to provide them all the superfood benefits of moringa or malunggay in the best and safest way possible – from source, since our moringa is certified organic by the EU, to processing, in no less than pharma-grade facilities,” said Abi Nepomuceno, Director and Business Unit Head of Synnovate Pharma Corporation.
The brand is also introducing its Botanicare line, with its first offering, the aloe ferox Skin Repair Gel, which can help nourish mom’s skin and be part of her everyday care for herself. This multi-functional, natural skin repair gel can help moisturize dry skin and repair damage caused by sunburn, acne and wound scars and stretch marks.
Available in Babymama.ph and Allganic retail stores, the repair gel is made from 99.9% aloe ferox gel from South Africa. Aloe ferox is part of the aloe family and is known to have better soothing properties and causes less allergic reactions compared to the more popular aloe vera due to its high levels of nutrients and antioxidants. — Deni Rose M. Afinidad-Bernardo