Anxiety is common among many now, and expecting women and young mothers are not far behind. Stressing on the importance of breastfeeding, some groups in the city have been conducting live online sessions and hosting events to promote the same.
As August is Breastfeeding Awareness Month, Metrolife spoke to young mother’s support groups about addressing concerns about breastfeeding and other issues.
Bangalore Birth Network
Bangalore Birth Network (BBN) has been focusing on evidence-based, respectful care and support for mothers and newborns and topics like breastfeeding for 13 years. The online community has been around for four years.
BBN has held several live sessions on Facebook for breastfeeding week, including topics like human milk bank, breast care, and babywearing. Future sessions will include topics like mental health of mothers during pregnancy and postpartum, and on this year’s theme, ‘Support Breastfeeding for a Healthier Planet’, and what one can do towards it.
Sapna Krishnan, communications and public engagement specialist, BBN, says a pan India MotherChild Covid-19 helpline addressing the concerns of pregnant women and mothers, was set up in April.
“It helps locate hospitals and other connected services. The helpline also provides support and follows up on a mother for the first six weeks after birth. For any breastfeeding concerns they are connected to lactation consultants,” she says.
Another initiative titled ‘Baby Gold’ has been added to the helpline, which asserts on the importance of the first hour of life practices for the health of mother and baby.
The group collects feedback from mothers to continuously improve their services.
Where: Bangalore Birth Network on Facebook
MotherChild Covid-19 helpline: 74129 00045
Nourish and Cherish — Breastfeeding Support
Preethi Pragash, a lactation counsellor from Kudlu Gate, offers consultation service for breastfeeding mothers. She has been doing many live sessions and creating awareness on her Facebook and Instagram pages.
Mothers-to-be and young parents can tune in to her page about concerns such as the importance of understanding one’s body, breastfeeding and during pregnancy.
Preethi says, “Creating positive thoughts among young mothers as soon as they deliver, concerns about producing enough milk for the baby, the importance of colostrum milk, and situations where a young mother undergoes a C-section and the baby has been introduced to formula milk from the hospital, how to wean the baby of it and reintroduce to breast milk, are some of the many topics addressed.”
Where: Nourish and Cherish - Breastfeeding Support on Facebook and Instagram
Contact: 93455 41858
The Birth Home
The Birth Home is a midwifery-led, natural birth facility in JP Nagar. It is active on social media and has been creating awareness for young mothers about breastfeeding.
From hand-holding and classes about breastfeeding in pregnancy, the centre holds activities, consultations, and answers all concerns of young mothers.
Chetana Kulkarni, co-owner of the facility and page, says, “The first-hours practice of no separation of mother and baby, optimal cord clamping, and first breastfeeding after birth is an integral part of our philosophy. This ensures the family unit is not being disturbed until the baby latches on and the first breastfeeding is done.”
She says that these points are discussed online throughout the year and in August, during online sessions. “This year, we did a session on the importance of breastfeeding and posture, a unique blend of physiotherapy and lactation going hand in hand.”
Live and pre-recorded sessions will be posted online. Upcoming online events include discussions about adoptive breastfeeding, where even without giving birth, how one can breastfeed their adopted baby, will be discussed. “I will talk from my own experience here,” she adds.
The Birth Home will be asking clients and members about their birth and breastfeeding experiences with respect to the care provided. “Those stories will be shared online, which will help give more insight into varied experiences.”
Where: The Birth Home on Facebook
Contact: 81052 33881
Breastfeeding Support for Indian Women
Founded by Adhunika Prakash, Breastfeeding Support for Indian Women (BSIM) is one of the largest growing mom support groups in the country.
BSIM has hosted several awareness events and support meetings in Bengaluru.
The group hosted a story-sharing campaign, where mothers share their journey of breastfeeding, how hard it was to breastfeed and how they overcame it. “Breastfeeding is a learned skill, it needs a lot of support from the community, the organisation you work for, and the country you reside in,” she says.
Apart from this, the group will continue to provide 24x7 support to young mothers about breastfeeding, why it is important to breastfeed and so on.
She says, “We have been highlighting lesser-known facts about breastfeeding. We have spoken about breastfeeding during Covid-19, how it should not be interrupted even if the baby or mother are tested positive and how to go about it too.”
Where: Breastfeeding Support for Indian Women on Facebook
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