Part One
NIPPLES and income.
These are just two considerations for mothers in Pasig City on whether to feed their children with mother’s milk or
milk formula.
For Mariecon Lontoc, Jenne Pauline Sison and Allyza Travino, having inverted nipples is a condition they have to manage along with the family’s resources.
Lontoc, a full-time homemaker, uses milk formula for her daughter’s daily dietary requirement.
Sison, who works the graveyard shift as a technical support staff for a business-process outsourcing firm, does too for her two children.
“Kahit mahirap mag trabaho sa gabi, kailangan ko talagang gawin ito kasi magastos ’yung gatas ng mga anak ko, eh wala naman akong choice kasi nga walang lumalabas na gatas sa akin [Though it’s really difficult to work the night shift, I still have to do it because milk formulas are expensive and I have no choice since I cannot produce milk],” she toldthe BusinessMirror.
Sison is thankful for the additional income from lease of a two-story apartment her husband manages. Travino, who works for her mother’s company, uses a Nestlé S.A. brand of milk formula and 800 gram can of which costs more or less P1,100.
But for Ion Faye Lagunzad, mother of a 2-year old son, it was her failing health that prompted her to adopt milk formula.
“Nung unang anim na buwan, nag-breastfeed ako kasi ni-required iyon ng doctor,” Lagunzad told the BusinessMirror. “Pero nung tumagal, itinigil ko na din kasi nahihirapan ako lalo na kapag inaatake ako ng hika” [I breastfed in the first six months based on my doctor’s advice. But I stopped because of my respiratory illness].”
Sumilang village
Pasig City’s Barangay Sumilang, where Lontoc, Sison and Lagunzad live, has a total population of 5,375, latest government data showed.
According to the 2016 data of Barangay Sumilang Health Center, there were 71 mothers who breastfed their young and 39 infants who were exclusively breastfed for six months.
“’Yung ibang nanay kasi na pumupunta dito hindi nagtatagal sa pag-breastfeed,” Edith Benito, health center coordinator, told the BusinessMirror. “Minsan, malalaman na lang namin na tumigil na pala sa pag-breastfeed tapos gumamit na din ng milk formula [Some mothers are inconsistent in their breastfeeding; we would be belatedly informed some of them have already stopped and switched to milk formulas].”
Data from the local government of Pasig City showed that in 2016 only 34.6 percent, or 6,750 mothers, practiced breastfeeding. This is less than half of the city health office’s target of 19,528.
Pasig City is home to 755,300. Benito said the numbers are small despite the incentives they give to encourage mothers to practice breastfeeding.
According to her, barangay health centers give mothers free multivitamins and free consultations with physicians and health personnel. They will also benefit from a feeding program, Benito said.
In general, mothers can save their money instead of buying milk formulas and there will be an intimate bonding for mothers and infants, according to her.
Support
ACCORDING to Jenily Capalaran, registered nutritionist and dietician, the Pasig City Health Office conducts different activities to encourage breastfeeding.
Included in these activities are the setting up of breastfeeding stations in workplaces, communities and schools. Some of these stations are at the City Hall (Room 8 on the fifth floor and at the Gender and Development Office), at health centers in all barangay in Pasig and in select schools, like Rosario Elementary School and Pasig
Elementary School.
Capalaran added an additional effort is the establishment of Nutrition Clusters, which is a group composed of local government employees and staff from non-governmental groups and international humanitarian agencies. She explained the Nutrition Cluster takes the lead in nutrition management during emergencies and disasters.
Documents Capalaran provided show the Nutrition Cluster aims to ensure that the nutritional status of affected population, especially the most vulnerable groups, will not worsen or deteriorate due to the impact of emergency and disasters. This is accomplished, the documents said, through linking with other clusters and “establishing capacities at all levels”.
Other initiatives the city hopes would encourage breastfeeding was the establishment of an Infant and Young Child Feeding Technical Working Group (IYCF-TWG) to manage and implement all the training related to IYCF and the recruitment of new breastfeeding support groups. Capalaran said the Pasig City local government also offers individual and group counseling for lactating mothers, as well as free lactation massage. We also undertake home visitations, hold advocacy fora and film showing, she said.
However, the Pasig City Health Office still encountered challenges while implementing the program.
“Despite all the efforts to encourage mothers for exclusive breastfeeding, there’s still a low turnout in the number of mothers who practice breastfeeding,” Capalaran told the BusinessMirror. “Television and media advertisement play a big challenge that hinders implementation of exclusive breastfeeding.” Kaye Escaño
To be continued
Image credits: Alysa Salen