West Timor, 11/8/2008 --
The mother smiles while holding Carlos, her 18-month-old, a healthy baby with chubby cheeks. “I gave Carlos only breast milk from birth until he was six months old. His growth was excellent and he was not so easily sick. Now, Carlos has started talking and he is pretty good at walking,” said Felisitas Molo, 34. Staring at the baby, Theodorus Fallo, 38, Carlos’ father, smiled proudly.
Felisitas and her family live in Oenenu village, Timor Tengah Utara district, East Nusa Tenggara. It is around six kilometers from Kefa, the district capital. Mama Felis, as people often called her, actively participates in the Centre of Mothers‘ Education from CARE. Here, she learns new information on early lactating and exclusive breastfeeding.
“According to the housewives and CARE staff, breast milk is best for the baby. Especially when it is given up to six months after the baby is born. The baby will be healthier and smarter,” said mama Felis. “I want to prove what they said.”
Mama Felis had two children before Carlos: 14-year-old Novi, and 9-year-old Vian. They were given breast milk but only until they reached three months old. After that, mama Felis gave them food. Generally in the area, babies are given topo, porridge made of rice flour, or pulverized rice.
Before the CARE program was implemented in the area, the mothers did not understand what early initiation meant. It is a routine to bathe the newborn baby and cover it with a blanket. While the mother is being cleaned and fed, the baby is taken to another room or given to the grandmother or other relatives.
Through the Infant and Young Child Feeding (IYCF) project, CARE provides training on lactation counseling, lactation management and peer education to health cadres and housewives to enable them to learn the importance of breast milk for infants. Next, information is spread to family members and neighbours in the village during Posyandu (integrated health service post) sessions and door-to-door visits, or during lactation counseling.
Motivated by the health cadres, mama Felis was very determined to prove the greatness of breast milk. Carlos, the youngest in the family, was given breast milk until he was six months old without any additional food.
“There was a time when our parents were against our intention to give Carlos only breast milk until he was six months old,” said mama Felis. “My mom said that if Carlos cries it means that he is still hungry and that I have to give him food, apart from breast milk.”
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“There was a time when our parents were against our intention to give Carlos only breast milk until he was six months old,” said mama Felis. “My mom said that if Carlos cries it means that he is still hungry and that I have to give him food, apart from breast milk.”
“Because I believe in CARE, I continued to give only breast milk to Carlos until he was six months. Now, he has grown to be a healthy baby and he does not get sick easily. Carlos is 18 months now. He started to speak and is already walking well,” mama Felis, repeatedly said proudly.
Veromena Sena, 39, who also lives in Oenenu village, is as keen as mama Felis to give breast milk to her baby. She participates in the Center of Mothers’ Education (COME) with mama Felis. Not only that, she also a health cadre.
“I gain a lot of knowledge from CARE’s activities. I now know about exclusive breastfeeding and supplementary feeding to my baby,” said mama Vero enthusiastically.
COME help mama Vero understand the importance of regular checking from early pregnancy. She regularly goes to the Posyandu to check her unborn baby every month. Not only that, after routine sessions of COME, she learned most information a mother needs to know about maternal and child health, including early initiation of breastfeeding.
Mama Vero gave birth to her second child, Ruth Kapitan, 1, with help from the village midwife. As she had learned about early initiation before, she did not hesitate to put it into practice. “With early initiation, I felt a much stronger connection with my baby.”
According to mama Vero, there are a lot of advantages gained by breastfeeding her baby right after the baby was born up until six months old. The baby was stronger and more immune to disease. Also, the baby grew more rapidly than others. Compared to her five-year-old brother, Kapitan, Ruth is much more active. She also started to speak and crawl earlier than her brother.
“By breastfeeding my baby, I don’t need to use contraceptives. The pregnancy will be delayed automatically,” added mama Vero.
“I want my baby to be healthy and smart. Because I am also a health cadre, I must set an example to other moms,” she said smiling. “Besides, it is cheap this way, no need to buy formula milk, just breast milk. Really, breast milk, is the best nature’s gift for the babies.”
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