Breastfeeding, a team effort (I)
This year’s theme for World Breastfeeding Week (August 1-7) was “Facilitating breastfeeding: making a difference for working mothers and fathers”
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In Cuba, female workers are entitled to maternity leave with full pay from week 34 of pregnancy (or week 32 if it is a multiple pregnancy) and until 12 months after the birth of their baby. During this stage, they must find in the family environment the main support for breastfeeding the newborn.
Parents and other close relatives need information to assume their different roles during this period. It is precisely co-responsibility and a work environment conducive to the development of breastfeeding that have been at the center of this week’s discussions.
The family has an active role in accompanying and encouraging mothers to maintain exclusive breastfeeding for the first six months of their children’s lives and be able to extend it into the second year of age and beyond, complemented with healthy foods. It is a team effort, as confirmed by several Cuban families who tell us about their experiences.
Support is fundamental
Glorianna Rodríguez Chávez has been breastfeeding her baby girl Aitana Mairim during her first 9 months of life. “Having the support of my family in the beautiful and challenging role as a pro-breastfeeding mom has been fundamental to achieve this. While breastfeeding requires time and dedication, it also requires an environment of warmth, calm and peace, where the family is involved.
“My whole family understood my desire to breastfeed from the very first days and, consequently, offered suggestions to improve the technique. Above all, dad has played a central role in supporting me, with actions such as holding the baby while I’m tired, hydrating me while I breastfeed, getting rid of gas, massaging for colic, etc. In addition, he has not only served as an emotional support, calming worries and anxieties that revolve around breastfeeding, but also dispelling myths that hinder it.”
During the pregnancy, Glorianna and her husband Anddy Hidalgo began to imagine what these moments together would be like. They searched for information and exchanged about the importance of sharing this “wonderful path, where the support of your partner is fundamental”.
In Cuban society, there are still gender inequalities in the distribution of housework and in child rearing. Knowing the benefits of breastfeeding for both the baby and the mother, and contributing to creating a family environment that favors breastfeeding, are expressions of responsible parenthood.
The Father from the beginning campaign, promoted by UNICEF and the Ministry of Education, encourages fathers to ensure and support breastfeeding, taking co-responsibility for the care of the baby during this important period. In this way, mothers can dedicate the necessary time to the baby, and even have time for themselves.
Many Cuban homes are shared by several generations. The arrival of a baby transforms the routines of all family members. In particular, grandmothers and grandfathers usually contribute their experience to those who are starting out in parenting roles. So did Dulce Domínguez.
Supporting my daughter and my granddaughter in breastfeeding gives me pleasure
Many Cuban homes are shared by several generations. The arrival of a baby transforms the routines of all family members. In particular, grandmothers and grandfathers usually contribute their experience to those who are starting out in parenting roles. So did Dulce Domínguez.
“Supporting my daughter in exclusive breastfeeding is a duty that I take on with great pleasure. I know how important it is for the development of my granddaughter Ana Paula. Breastfeeding provides babies with the nutrients they need in a balanced way and benefits the development of their immune system, while contributing to the prevention of chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.
“It is essential to accompany mothers in this stage, especially new mothers, and to demystify misconceptions that can lead them to abandoning breastfeeding, without recognizing its importance.”
To breastfeed is to love with awareness
Yenisabel Dueñas is a mother for the second time and one of her certainties, since she knew she was pregnant, was that she would breastfeed the new baby. Now she shares those moments with her husband, Ibrahin Chacón, and her teenage son, Enmanuel Trujillo. Together they watch over little Erick’s progress.
Ten months of breastfeeding have been beneficial for her as well. “You feed him, he grows, he gets stronger, he assimilates life with all the health that you emanate and you feel that you provide for him in that unique, special and indescribable relationship... Undoubtedly, to breastfeed is to love, as to love is to breastfeed with awareness. To enjoy this happiness is an immense blessing that we can offer and which also nourishes us.”
A pact with my daughter
Dainery Rodriguez is 28 years old and became the mother of Mythali 8 months ago. Her daughter’s wellbeing is her greatest interest, so she did not hesitate to follow the recommendations to feed her with breast milk from the very first moment. “Although she is no longer exclusive, she continues to drink from the teti -as we call it- and she will do so for as long as she wants,” she says.
It is a pact with the complicity of both, but also of other family members, who offer security to keep pace with the baby. “The support of the family and society is of utmost importance, as the myths related to breastfeeding clash with the mother’s desire to maintain it”.
Initial difficulties are what I remember least
“Breastfeeding involves many challenges, especially for first-time mothers. Recovering quickly from childbirth, helping the nipples to reach the best possible conditions to facilitate suckling the baby; reorganizing all the times and daily tasks, making breastfeeding a priority; creating a favorable, calm, pleasant environment for both...”
This is how Sayonara Tamayo, mother of Lucas, remembers the initial challenges of breastfeeding. For her, the support of other mothers was vital. “The visits, messages, calls, books, breast pumps, prayers, answers, massages, cures, patience and the wonderful phrase from my partner: don’t worry about anything else, I’m here...; without all that, those 15 months of many hours of breastfeeding a day, sitting, lying down, standing up, would not have left me with the feeling of happiness that I have from that stage. The initial difficulties were not few, but now it’s what I remember the least.”
Sayonara says that breastfeeding ended quietly by Lucas’s decision. “As if he would give me a kiss, say thank you very much, mom and go out to play. Having information on how to feed her baby is another aspect she finds very useful for mothers and fathers.
On the Telegram platform, more advice can be found in the Crecer saludables (Growing up healthy) channel, a space for guidance for families on comprehensive care for children and adolescents, created by the National Child Care Commission of the Ministry of Public Health and supported by UNICEF. Likewise, in the material Elige salud, elige lactar (Choose health, choose breastfeeding), there are recommendations for successful breastfeeding and for the support of families and communities in the process.
