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Monday, December 17, 2018, 10:49
We must do more to help loving mothers breastfeed their babies
By Shadow Li
Monday, December 17, 2018, 10:49 By Shadow Li

With the end of 2018 drawing nearer, it’s time to see what we can cross off our list of resolutions for 2018 and what we need to put on our list for next year. This year, I crossed off one of the most important must-do things on my list. I had a baby — in quite difficult circumstances.

I thought things would get easier for me; after all I had just had a child and survived “unbearable” labor pains for days. So what else could possibly beat that? It turns out I was being too upbeat. The first hurdle came when I was still in hospital, exhausted, but experiencing the satisfaction of giving birth to a son. Then, the doctor came and asked me to breastfeed him. Breastfeeding is the first mountain that every new mother must climb.

Doctors and nurses are encouraging breastfeeding for reasons we all know — that breast milk provides the best nutrition and protection to newborns. Plus, it can also save money. There seems no reason for us to reject such a good deal. Indeed, Hong Kong is gradually embracing breastfeeding.

According to Secretary for Food and Health Sophia Chan Siu-chee, the percentage of mothers who are breastfeeding when their babies were discharged from hospital has increased drastically from 43 percent in 1997 to 87 percent in 2016. Meanwhile, the percentage of babies being breastfed until they are four months old has also increased — from 6 percent in 1997 to 31 percent in 2016.

The numbers do seem inspiring. The average breastfeeding rate globally is about 40 percent. The World Health Organization suggested an exclusive breastfeeding period for six months for infants. According to a biennial survey by the Department of Health, 27.9 percent babies born in 2016 and surveyed in 2017 were breastfed until six months old and 0.9 percent were fed exclusively with breast milk. It was much lower than the global figure.

Personally, as a rookie mother, I was not so optimistic and have already started to feel the anxieties and difficulties ahead. First of all, in Hong Kong, a working mother has a 10-week maternity leave — which will soon be extended to 14 weeks. Not to mention that in most cases companies require maternity leave to be taken two weeks or even four weeks prior to the due day of giving birth. For me, the baby came more than a week later than expected. I was left with less than seven weeks to recover; in the meantime I had to breastfeed my baby. This was simply not enough time. Naturally, a working mother has a choice if she wants to continue breastfeeding the baby after rejoining workplace — pumping breast milk at the office.

But the problem is this: There is very little support in workplace even in a highly civilized city like Hong Kong. This was despite a survey finding that setting up a decent lactation room costs employers only about HK$2,000. Such facilities are a scarce resource — even in public hospitals. Earlier, my son was admitted to a public hospital for jaundice. I had to ask the nurse for a chair in the so-called lactation room when I wanted to breastfeed him. The room was half full of medical equipment; the hospital had practically nothing set up for mothers wanting to breastfeed babies — not even a pillow to support the baby when breastfeeding.

Still, I am glad to see the government and society are doing more to change this. The government tabled an amendment to the Sex Discrimination Ordinance to the Legislative Council last Wednesday. This is in an attempt to prevent discrimination against breastfeeding or pumping breast milk. Earlier in June 2017, the Executive Council approved a mandatory requirement to impose baby-care facilities and lactation rooms in the sale conditions of government land sales for new commercial development.

All of these new changes will certainly change the public’s mindset on breastfeeding in public places. But will it significantly encourage mothers to breastfeed their babies? I have reservations.

Full-time working mothers need courage to continue breastfeeding their babies. We will need to have a more inclusive society and greater understanding from employers. A friend of mine on the Chinese mainland enjoys one-hour of breastfeeding leave everyday until her baby was 1 year old. In the meantime, longer maternity and paternity leave also give mothers more incentives to breastfeed their babies. That’s also one of the reasons why the breastfeeding rate on the Chinese mainland is higher than in Hong Kong.

I’m sure most moms would not want to miss the chance to offer their children the best they can when the circumstances allow. 

The author is deputy news editor of China Daily Hong Kong.


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