Jamie Lau, Project Manager of Natural Parenting Network

Recently, the Equal Opportunities Commission released a report on breastfeeding at publicly accessible premises in Hong Kong. We from the Natural Parenting Network would like to share the challenges that breastfeeding mothers face and hope the public will better understand our needs and offer support and respect.

Breastfeeding not only benefits babies and mothers, but also families, and the workplace, as well as the society ultimately.

The success and sustainability of breastfeeding depend not only on the effort of mothers and babies but also how the support from their environment: the attitude of family members, societal views, the workplace arrangements when mothers return to work etc.

Breastfed babies receive natural antibiotics and other life-immune contents, especially during their vulnerable period before the age of 2. This reduces the risk of babies getting sick or hospital admissions, which subsequently decreases the need for parents to apply for leave to take care of their children.  Parents then can focus more on their work and have high productivity, which is a win-win situation for the new families, organization and society.

Apart from physical benefits, breastfeeding also helps mothers and babies establish a close bond and attachment, leading to better emotional and brain development. Therefore there is an essential need for social support for breastfeeding families.

We realized that mothers are facing some difficulties:-

1 . Although many public venues provide baby care or nursing rooms nowadays, the number of facilities provided is far less to meet the demand. There may be 1 or 2 nursing rooms if lucky or it maybe only available on certain floors). But the number of families visiting the venue is not 1 or 2! We can imagine when a baby shows their early hunger signal, mothers need to find their way to the baby care facilities, which may take a 10-minute walk, only to find the room may be occupied, leading to a further waiting of 30 minutes or more.

2. Some nursing areas are designed to share with baby-changing stations. This would lead to a longer waiting time and queue for those who have real needs.

3. Sometimes misutilization occurs such as people occupying the nursing room for bottle/ formula feeding babies, having lunch, or other uses rather than breastfeeding! Some facilities management offices may lock the room for better control and avoid the above occurrence. When mothers reach the nursing room, they need to call the management office and wait for them to unlock the room. It is very inconvenient indeed and the purpose of establishing a breastfeeding room cannot be fully utilized.

The availability of breastfeeding facilities is only one of the difficulties that mothers face. There is also a lack of awareness and acceptance of breastfeeding. People think it’s just the same between breastfeeding and formula feeding and even may stop mothers from breastfeeding in open areas such as shopping arcades, restaurants, and parks etc. They even ask mothers to feed their babies in the washroom, which is inhumane. This can deter mothers from bringing their babies out even for a walk.

On the other hand, there are only guidelines issued by the government but not ordinances to monitor employers to provide certain designated breastfeeding periods and spaces. Therefore apart from families visiting public venues having their needs for breastfeeding facilities, some working mothers need to pump or express breastmilk at nursing rooms near their workplace, which increases the need for certain amount of breastfeeding rooms.

There is an increasing need for breastfeeding facilities in public and government premises. Government legislation on breastfeeding facilities requirements in newly built and refurbished premises can absolutely help to fulfil the demands. Relative stakeholders shall put an effort into supporting breastfeeding families. The developers can arrange breastfeeding facilities by re-arranging shops/ office areas in their existing premises, placing portable cube breastfeeding rooms can already help a lot. We think it is a social responsibility to offer support and respect to breastfeeding mothers.

The above-mentioned hindered mothers' continuous breastfeeding, especially after getting back to work. The attitude of the people around them is very important. How the public reacts to breastfeeding strongly affects mothers’ confidence and minds in sustaining their breastfeeding journey. We would recommend the government to promote and educate people that “breastfeeding is just that normal”, breastfeeding mothers are deserved to be respected and accepted. Mothers have the right to breastfeed their children anytime anywhere, even the breastfeeding facilities are not available, without being stared by strange eyes.

There are resources in the society that support breastfeeding mums. We are breastfeeding mothers and we provide peer support to expected and post-natal parents, the “Breastfeeding Peer Counseling Program” (in short “BFPC) is commissioned by the Department of Health. We organize workshops and deliver correct breastfeeding information via social media like Facebook, Instagram, WeChat, and YouTube. Mothers can also raise their enquiries by reaching out our hotline and WhatsApp group services.

 

Moreover, we recommend mothers download the mobile app “ Breastfeeding GPS” so that they can obtain the location of breastfeeding facilities nearby when they are going out with their babies or there is a need for a place for milk expression during work or away from their babies.

 

This morning, I’d like to dedicate the song Never Grow Up by Taylor Swift to all of you listening. Enjoy and Thank you