A taste of human milk

Now what does human milk taste like? Even experienced midwives and my breastfeeding counsellor pulled faces and admitted they didn’t know, when I asked them. I wouldn’t even dare to taste my own milk. Probably it is because we have associated milk with other bodily fluids which are seen as gross. And we know that fresh cow and goat’s milk have the subtle smell of the animals.

However, I got my two very curious and adventurous sons aged nine and six to taste my milk and they got hooked on it. They eagerly looked forward to finishing off leftover milk from their baby brother and when there was any excess, they made air bandung (milk mixed with rose syrup) with it!

I could not understand why they liked it so much until one day when I accidentally squirted some into my mouth. My instinct was to spit it out and run to the sink to disinfect my mouth. However, I was still recovering from my caesarean operation and was unable to leap out of the sofa and dash to the bathroom. Thus I had no choice but to swallow it. That was how I found the answer to this mysterious question. Human milk tastes like diluted condensed milk. It is light and sweet with absolutely no sickening flavour whatsoever – unless you drank too much salted fish soup!

At least three nurses from two different hospitals told me that there are women who produce breast milk and sell them in bottles for about RM100 in Penang. I can visualise feeding cow or any other animal’s milk to my brood but never another woman’s milk! It is such an intimate and private bond.

However, there are instances when some kind women would voluntarily donate their milk to help sickly babies who desperately needed it.

Please note that you must never give your baby another woman’s milk without your doctor’s approval because there are risks of serious infections being transmitted to your baby through breast milk. I know several mothers of premature and sick babies who successfully nurtured their very fragile babies by providing them with their milk. One of them, Winnie, had a premature daughter at 25 weeks who weighed only 825gm. Today, her daughter is a healthy three-year-old, thanks to her determination to breastfeed her child.

Another friend whose son had meningitis when he was a few weeks old attributed his healthy growth and intelligence to her efforts in breastfeeding him till he was five years old.

My fourth son, Vincent, was fully breastfed for more than four months and though he had many health complications, he is fondly remembered as an “apple cheek, chubby baby” by all. (Vincent lost his fight at seven months old due to premie-related illnesses.)

Painful reality

Firstly, most of us are not aware how terrible breast engorgement can feel like. On top of the pain of episiotomy or caesarean stitches and other birth-related traumas, we are hit by this discomfort when we return home from hospital.

The agony is akin to being run over by a steam-roller and then having two hot, heavy steel orbs placed on your chest. Once I was caught stuck to my bed after waking up from a nap, not being able to move or even raise my voice to call for help.

Luckily I had my handphone and called my son who was downstairs to come to the rescue with a double dose of painkillers. But don’t be discouraged because breast engorgement is really a much-awaited sign that your milk production is in full gear. It only lasts a day or two, and if you faithfully stick to the advice given by your midwife, you will be fine. It is worth the pain, trust me.

Secondly, you are going to be inundated with lots of well-meaning but negative advice from relatives and friends. It takes a very strong, determined and self-assured woman to overcome them.

If all medical personnel tell you that breast milk is best, then why allow unqualified advice to dishearten you?

Perhaps our local culture and taboos place too much emphasis on the recovery of the new mother at the expense of the well-being of the baby. Malays, Chinese and Indians alike have a myriad of amusing old-wives tales and practices where the care of the new mother is concerned.

You may find that some of these beliefs and practices are handed down from your great-grandmothers. For example, my Chinese ancestors may be able to go without a bath or shampoo for weeks or stay cooped up in a room with no air-conditioner or fan because they probably lived in the northern part of China where it must have been freezing cold.

My advice is to listen to your body and trust your own maternal instincts. Remember to place your baby’s health ahead of yours. Women in developed countries do not treat themselves like a piece of crystal after childbirth. Neither do women in undeveloped countries.

I have read with amusement how women lost their self-confidence as they aged and blamed breastfeeding and sagging breasts for failing to capture their husbands’ interests.

I even came across a hilarious letter in a magazine in which a woman wrote in to ask the doctor for advice on how to stop her breast-milk because her husband wanted to claim back his properties!

The act of feeding your baby is not exactly the most seductive pose. New mothers may have some inhibitions about transforming themselves from being a desirable woman into a milk-producing mammal.

New fathers, take note of this crucial tip. Never joke with a hormone-laden, sensitive new mother, no matter how supportive and loving you are, that she resembles the bovine species.

I remember my husband cracked this joke about me when I had my firstborn. He brought this bundle of nerves, who was bawling for milk, and said something like: “There, go find your moo-moo cow”. Not only did I bawl along with my baby, I also boycotted feeding my son from then on.

Of course, now I do not feel sensitive about any joke because I know that my ability to nurture my own flesh and blood is more important than anything else.

This is the article that starts it all. Right after this article was published, several mothers wrote to Lilian. So, they decided to set up a group email and from then on, the group members grow and grow.

The Star Online

Wednesday, January 29, 2003

Working at breastfeeding

By CHAN LILIAN

NEW mums and mums-to-be may find themselves swirling in a bowl of alphabet soup where the nutritional needs of their babies are concerned. DHA, ARA, EFA, LCP, etc, seem to be the latest lingo. Looking back, I guess the good old days must have been much easier for our grandmothers and mothers had only one choice: breast milk – free and easily available.

I have four sons and am expecting my fifth one. When I had my first two boys, I was guilty of adopting breastfeeding as a novelty – something every new mum ought to try out but not necessarily stick with it when the going gets tough. After all, aren’t baby formulas easily available in our neighbourhood sundry shops and supermarkets? Why go through all the hassle, pain, sleepless nights and 101 other inconveniences when our baby prefers the simplicity of drinking from a bottle?

I was guilty of not attempting breastfeeding at all when I had my third son. It was only when I had my fourth son who was a premature baby that I learnt every tip and trick about expressing milk and breastfeeding.

During his first two months, I spent every day in the hospital nursing room exchanging notes and experiences with a wonderful breastfeeding counsellor, midwives and trained staff nurses, because my baby depended on my milk for survival.

It was only after a few weeks of their endless dedication to guide me and my persistence that I finally succeeded. When I was there, I observed that all new mums were enthusiastic about nursing their newborns. However, after a few days at home, many of them returned to report that their babies were on formula milk.

Some of their babies needed subsequent hospitalisation due to fever or jaundice. Often they would bring their baby along with a big tin of formula milk. What happened to the enthusiastic mums who were aware of the goodness of human milk, yet failed to breastfeed their babies?