There really is no substitute (From Asian Image)

There really is no substitute

2:36pm Saturday 26th May 2007 in News features By Shamim Khan

It is National Breastfeeding Awareness Week (13 May to 19 May) and Shamim Khan has got some advice for Asian mums everywhere...

As a first time mother often on the long road to nowhere one of the first important decisions we are advertently faced with is how to feed our little bundle of joy!

I was no different and was never unclear about my choice of breast-feeding. I felt that as a Muslim mum it was one of the most important responsibilities towards my baby, to nourish both mind and body.

And it allowed me to strengthen this very special bond by embracing him and providing him with a safe haven for love and sustenance. I loved revelling in this mommy ecstasy by being so close to my baby.

I justified the 2, 4, and 6.30am feeds through the assurance that I had indeed gained the reward of liberating twenty slaves. So how many would that make over the course of 12 months? I thought as I lay with the insides of my eyelids feeling like they were covered in sandpaper whilst soldiering down this prickly path called motherhood'.

In an age where most of my friends and relatives had chosen to feed by bottle often as a sign of modernity', I didn't want to be a slave to this umbrella of thought.

This not so professional group of women consisting of my gran, mum and mum-in-law would convene daily and flood me with a colourful array of bottle feeding tales.

Why else had Allah so strategically provided the first part of rizq/provision in the form of breast milk?

"What? You're breast-feeding? Is that normal? You're not going to do it in public?" were just a few of the highly supportive comments that I was to receive on this journey fraught with so many perils, the biggest being in the form of the female elderly clan.

This not so professional group of women consisting of my gran, mum and mum-in-law would convene daily and flood me with a colourful array of bottle feeding tales.

This panel would then conclude that their grandchild was failing to thrive on my milk and that he was looking thinner than yesterday.

My relentless protestations that he was having 6-8 wet nappies in 24 hours and was showing promising weight gain (as declared by the health visitor) held no weight age.

Why had they forgotten that formula was a 20th century invention and that babies since the beginning of time had thrived on breast milk only, namely the prophets (pbuthem) and their children.

The main motivation of the formula milk industry is to make money and that few adults would abandon fresh fruit and veg. for stale tinned foods!

So why should babies be forced to drink the powdered stuff that has been stored in tins for months and not delight in the freshness and readiness of MUMMY MILK!

So with my mummy milk banner in hand and a challenge to the traditional conventions of the house I decided to prove them all wrong.

My first point of contact was my Little Angels' breastfeeding advisor and this lead to intensive research on the Internet. The findings were amazing!

ADVANTAGES OF BREAST-FEEDING.

*BREAST MILK IS PERSONALISED FOR YOUR BABY-your breast milk contains the perfect amount of everything that your baby needs. It changes to meet the demands of your baby during growth spurts and at each stage of development Your baby is less likely to get infections and allergies as breast-milk contains at least 100 ingredients and nutrients not found in formula.

*IT PROTECTS your child against common diseases such as ear infections, diarrhoea, stomach upsets and asthma.

*LESS CHANCE OF OBESITY-since breast fed babies are able to follow the demands of their appetite, breastfeeding may help reduce the chance of becoming overweight.

*EASIER TO DIGEST-your milk is designed for your baby's sensitive digestive system whereas formula contains proteins and hormones that are too rough for a human baby's delicate system.

*NO CONSTIPATION-breast milk has a natural laxative effect, infants who breastfeed will rarely become constipated.

*CONVENIENCE-no worry about keeping bottles and nipples clean, carrying bottled milk and keeping it at the correct temperature. Breast milk is always ready to use at the correct temperature.

*MONEY SAVING-Breast milk is free, where formula, nipples and bottles can get expensive.

*GOOD FOR MUM-Breastfeeding creates a surge of the hormones for your body, which helps your uterus to contract and shrink to its pre-pregnancy size.

*GUARDS AGAINST BREAST CANCER-women who breastfeed are less prone to breast cancer in later life.

STRONG EMOTIONAL MOTHER-BABY BENEFITS-the skin-to-skin contact and cuddling during breastfeeding creates a wonderful bond between mother and baby.

I can honestly state that my decision to breast-feed was driven primarily by my responsibility as a Muslim mother towards my child, and as Islam had recommended this I felt a certain obligation.

On discovering all the further advantages of breast-feeding I suddenly saw my Mummy Milk' banner fluttering and sailing higher on the breeze. My breast had literally not only swollen due to the increasing demand for milk but also due to this newfound and unrelentless sense of pride.

I felt that I had been awarded an honorary accolade of YUMMY MUMMY' quite literally.

And so a week ago whilst seated at a cousin's house enjoying afternoon tea in conversation with a group of highly reputed ignoramuses, an unexpected turn of events occurred.

My Aunt whilst engaged in an intense discussion on breastfeeding stated "How do we expect our youth to prosper and behave well when we have reared them on the milk of an ANIMAL (cow). Had we reared them on the milk of humans maybe we could expect prosperity and success!"

And breathing a heavy sigh of relief, I sink deeper into the sofa hoping that indeed my little Salmaan would confirm this belief and reach heights no bottle fed baby could reach! MUMMY MILK RULES!!

Shamim Khan is a Little Angel Breastfeeding Support Worker.