Tag: breastfeeding 101

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An Interview: Breastfeeding101 – A portrayal of the pleasures & pains of breastfeeding

This is Abigail

South African, age 34
Location At the post office in Mowbray, Cape Town, South Africa
Feeding her 13-month-old child
Photographed August 2017

When my daughter was six months old, I returned to work. During the build-up to that Monday I spent the weekend stressing that I would not be able to provide her with enough expressed milk for my first day away from her.  Ultimately the stressing served no purpose; in spite of it I ended up having more than enough. I had to pump milk at work, hands-free, sometimes in mid-conversation with colleagues – and not be inhibited, or make them feel so*. Breastfeeding’s longevity and success are very much controlled by how we approach it and the environment we create around it. It can be the most joyful experience any mother can have if faced head-on, without fear or inhibition. I have pretty much fed anywhere, respectfully, and chosen not to worry about it most of the time. Whether others have cared or not, I can’t say. They have not been my focus.

The bond I have with my daughter while she is feeding is incredible. Feeling her hair against my skin, her weight in my arms… it’s very satisfying, the rush of the milk being let down when she starts to feed, her stroking my arm or touching my neck. She is more confident and secure and I believe this is strongly connected to the relationship created during breastfeeding. When she is sad, sick, worried or sore, breastfeeding and breast milk soothes and comforts her in a way that nothing else can. It is consistent – unlike anything else in life.

I think we all experience our bodies, breasts and breastfeeding in our own way. Yes, our bodies are sexy and completely awesome and should be idolised in their many shapes and forms, but at the same time our basic biological function is procreation. That is the sobering part that condemning types like to overlook when they start their criticisms. Breastfeeding is equally beautiful, is less provocative and exposes a woman’s beauty and strength in another light.

Why would you spend money on formula that is firstly, costly and secondly, not uniquely designed as your breast milk is, for the individual needs of your child? If you are producing your own milk and are able to feed your baby with reasonable ease, then there should not be the need for another option.

<sidenote>
Abigail works as a Freelance Costume Supervisor for Films and Series.

In 2019 I published my first book, Breastfeeding 101, which features candid portraits of 101 breastfeeding women as well their honest stories. In this blog post you see one of the mothers represented with her blurb from the book.

The idea for this book was unexpectedly sparked three years ago when I started seeing a lot of controversial social media content about breasts, nipples and breastfeeding.


Looking forward I hope my book can help normalise what is already a women’s most natural act. I would love to see the breastfeeding percentage rate in South Africa double. It came as a surprise to learn that, according to the 2018 statistics of the World Health Organisation (WHO), our country has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

Breastfeeding 101 features mothers from South Africa as well as around the globe and serves as a first-hand body of information – an unintentional handbook – directly from the women it captures.

Breastfeeding 101 is a book that wasn’t intended as a manual but may serve as one.

Basic info about the book:

Title: Breastfeeding 101
Publisher: Self-published via Staging Post
Format: Hardcover, 22 x 27cm, 224 pages
Price: ZAR385
Available for purchase via Exclusive Books, The Book Lounge and directly from the author.

Categories
Books | Mags | Articles | Ads | Film Projects Women I've Shot

An Interview: Breastfeeding101 – A portrayal of the pleasures & pains of breastfeeding

This is Alyssum

Zimbabwean, age 18
Location Outside a fuel station, Athlone, South Africa
Feeding her two-month-old child
Photographed December 2018

I was having an argument with my baby [laughs].  He’s so used to drinking pumped breast milk out of the bottle that he doesn’t want to nipple feed. I think he must get confused. He has to bottle feed a lot because I work. Sometimes he will want the breast when I’m home, but mostly it’s when he’s really hungry. Then he sucks so hard, he ends up choking – it goes down the wrong pipe. So we have arguments about how to feed [laughs]. It’s fun being a young mom. I don’t mind any of these frustrations because I am just so happy we have him.

This baby was planned. My husband and I had a stillborn baby boy in 2014; it was incredibly traumatic. Having our second born has been a healing thing. He was 2.8 kilograms at birth. And at the six-week check-up he weighed five kilograms. He’s solid. I think I’ll probably exclusively breastfeed him for four to five months. We believe that boys get quite hungry [for solids], it’s a Shona thing. At that stage sometimes women will give their babies a kind of porridge: They soak maize meal with water overnight and then feed the baby the strained, cooked water. It’s also a Shona thing to feed your baby cooking oil [sunflower/canola predominantly] for his tummy; it helps his intestines release easily, it really helps. You warm the oil on the stove a little bit and add a little salt. He had oil a couple of times after he was born, probably about two times a day for the first two weeks, just a little bit on a teaspoon. (Mothers also “make a way”, make it easier for the baby to be born by drinking a cup of warmed cooking oil before the birth. I didn’t do that though, because I’m fussy.) We don’t tell the nurses in the clinic because they freak out. People here in South Africa, they don’t understand because they’ve never heard of it. We’ve known about this method for a long time. Some Xhosa people know about the oil as well. But you know, where we came from people didn’t have access to any other options. It’s actually an alternative to colic drops which are really expensive, even when on special in the shops.

In 2019 I published my first book, Breastfeeding 101, which features candid portraits of 101 breastfeeding women as well their honest stories. In this blog post you see one of the mothers represented with her blurb from the book.

The idea for this book was unexpectedly sparked three years ago when I started seeing a lot of controversial social media content about breasts, nipples and breastfeeding.


Looking forward I hope my book can help normalise what is already a women’s most natural act. I would love to see the breastfeeding percentage rate in South Africa double. It came as a surprise to learn that, according to the 2018 statistics of the World Health Organisation (WHO), our country has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

Breastfeeding 101 features mothers from South Africa as well as around the globe and serves as a first-hand body of information – an unintentional handbook – directly from the women it captures.

Breastfeeding 101 is a book that wasn’t intended as a manual but may serve as one.

Basic info about the book:

Title: Breastfeeding 101
Publisher: Self-published via Staging Post
Format: Hardcover, 22 x 27cm, 224 pages
Price: ZAR385
Available for purchase via Exclusive Books, The Book Lounge and directly from the author.

Categories
Interviews & Conversations Projects

An Interview: Breastfeeding101 – A portrayal of the pleasures & pains of breastfeeding

This is Adelaide

South African, age 28
Location: De Waterkant, overlooking the city, Cape Town, South Africa
Feeding her eight-month-old child
Photographed January 2018

At first I wasn’t comfortable breastfeeding in public. Another mom told me, “My friend, you know, I breastfeed in church without fear, and no one judges me!” Her church didn’t have breastfeeding rooms for moms, so she did it in the chapel while the service was on. She really inspired me. That was a mom who was bold. From that day on, I took a decision. I’m now more comfortable than ever, and when I meet other moms I tell them breast milk is the best gift I have ever given to my daughter.

I have been asked nicely if I need something to “cover up” when I breastfeed. I decline politely. That is always an opportunity for me to explain my decision not to cover up. As an adult, you won’t try eating while you are covered. It’s uncomfortable, so why should I put my baby through that? She must also enjoy the ambiance while eating, like you. As an adult you will not eat in a toilet, so why do you expect me to feed my child in a toilet? To top it all, my daughter is at that stage where she does “gymnastics” while feeding. I don’t want to restrict her. She is having fun, covering up will spoil that for her. I say to other mothers, “If the baby is hungry, feed her no matter where you are.” Of course I do get stares here and there, but what’s more important than ensuring that my baby is fed and happy?

I work for the navy and I’m so lucky to be in an environment where they completely support my breastfeeding journey. They accommodate me in every way possible. I leave home at 05h30 for work. I usually arrive at work by 07h10, go to my office and express until 07h30. My next expressing session is 10h00 to10h30. Lunchtime is from 12h30 to 13h30. My last session will be at 15h30 just before I knock off, depending on my workload, and I get home by 18h00. It’s difficult to express when I get home as she wants to feed, so the driveway is the safest place for me. I express in my car before I go in to feed her.

At one point I was doing an extra course with weekly exams and had to fit in study hours too – at the same time, my daughter wanted to feed the whole night! I was tired, emotionally and physically. I woke up one morning crying because I couldn’t take it anymore and I wanted to stop breastfeeding. I swear I was about to lose my mind. I went online, did a little reading and realised I’m not the only one going through this. I requested a day’s leave so I could rest. I read more. I decided to continue with the journey.

We should not judge those who do not breastfeed. We don’t know half of their story. We shouldn’t feel that they are any less moms.

A lot of mothers are not well informed about the benefits of breastfeeding and some health workers do not promote it. The advice some get from their paediatrician is rather shocking. I might be stoned for saying this, but the breastfeeding group on Facebook is more informative than any advice given at the hospital.

In 2019 I published my first book, Breastfeeding 101, which features candid portraits of 101 breastfeeding women as well their honest stories. In this blog post you see one of the mothers represented with her story from the book.

The idea for this book was unexpectedly sparked three years ago when I started seeing a lot of controversial social media content about breasts, nipples and breastfeeding.


Looking forward I hope my book can help normalise what is already a women’s most natural act. I would love to see the breastfeeding percentage rate in South Africa double. It came as a surprise to learn that, according to the 2018 statistics of the World Health Organisation (WHO), our country has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

Breastfeeding 101 features mothers from South Africa as well as around the globe and serves as a first-hand body of information – an unintentional handbook – directly from the women it captures.

Breastfeeding 101 is a book that wasn’t intended as a manual but may serve as one.

Basic info about the book:

Title: Breastfeeding 101
Publisher: Self-published via Staging Post
Format: Hardcover, 22 x 27cm, 224 pages
Available for purchase via Exclusive Books, The Book Lounge and directly from myself.

Categories
Books | Mags | Articles | Ads | Film Projects Women I've Shot

An Interview: Breastfeeding101 – A portrayal of the pleasures & pains of breastfeeding

This is Ahisha

Dutch, age 28
Location In a boutique in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Feeding her four-month-old child
Photographed August 2018

I don’t believe in giving children – or people – milk from cows, or any other animals for that matter. It’s just not the way it is supposed to be. In my opinion we should drink our own milk, it is made for our babies. Some people are becoming aware of what to give babies. I haven’t had any animal’s milk for four years and I won’t give any to her when she’s older either. I’ll try to give her my milk for as long as I can. I was brought up to believe that [cow’s] milk is so healthy, good for your bones and blah blah. It’s just been marketed that way – people are starting to become aware of that. You wouldn’t see a calf drinking human milk right [laughs]? It is so strange that we drink cow’s milk. It’s about our health, it’s about animal cruelty and choosing what you support. Dairy products or animal products are dead matter. You feel good when you’re eating things like fruit and vegetables because they are alive.

Formula is predominantly produced using cow’s milk. There are a few which are vegan though [such as corn and rice-protein based formulas], but they are very expensive. I did some research to see if I could find a back-up, just in case.

In 2019 I published my first book, Breastfeeding 101, which features candid portraits of 101 breastfeeding women as well their honest stories. In this blog post you see one of the mothers represented with her blurb from the book.

The idea for this book was unexpectedly sparked three years ago when I started seeing a lot of controversial social media content about breasts, nipples and breastfeeding.


Looking forward I hope my book can help normalise what is already a women’s most natural act. I would love to see the breastfeeding percentage rate in South Africa double. It came as a surprise to learn that, according to the 2018 statistics of the World Health Organisation (WHO), our country has one of the lowest breastfeeding rates in the world.

Breastfeeding 101 features mothers from South Africa as well as around the globe and serves as a first-hand body of information – an unintentional handbook – directly from the women it captures.

Breastfeeding 101 is a book that wasn’t intended as a manual but may serve as one.

Basic info about the book:

Title: Breastfeeding 101
Publisher: Self-published via Staging Post
Format: Hardcover, 22 x 27cm, 224 pages
Price: ZAR385
Available for purchase via Exclusive Books, The Book Lounge and directly from the author.