WABA's 21st Anniversary

WABA secretariat plus me (in my punjabi)

This has been a very active week for me at the office.  Tuesday, February 14th, was the organization's 21st anniversary.  In celebration of the event, Sarah (executive director) threw us a lunch party of U.S. style Pizza -very American-like, I must say - salad, and icecream.  And I was asked to provide the staff with a 30 minute inservice on a lactation topic of my choice - something that would fit into WABA's mission statement: protecting, promoting and supporting breastfeeding.  So I put together a powerpoint presentation entitled WABA's 21 Years of Advocacy: The Global Case for Breastfeeding.  The presentation included the most recent breastfeeding statistics available and some interesting facts were highlighted: Optimal breastfeeding practices (exclusive breastfeeding x 6 months plus complementary foods and breastfeeding x additional 1-2 yrs) could reduce worldwide Under 5 Mortality rates by 19%; Malaysia has a lower Under 5 Mortality rate than the U.S.(6% as compared to 8% USA), but have almost equal childhood obesity rates (24% of Malaysian children and youth are overweight or obese as compared to of U.S. children ages 2-19); and while over 95% of Malaysian mothers breastfeed their infants while in the hospital following birth, only 14% are able to achieve exclusive breastfeeding for the first 6 months of life as recommended by the World Health Organization WHO) - an even greater reduction in rates than the U.S. where 75% initiate breastfeeding but only, similarly, 15% achieve exclusive breastfeeding to age 6 months.  I tried to gear the presentation to the reasons and possible solutions that women worldwide do not sustain successful breastfeeding.  Working and breastfeeding is one of the big challenges worldwide - employers around the world are seldom supportive of a mother's need to breastfeed.  And then there are cultural issues, complicated by zealous infant formula marketing.  I included some humorous and inspiring 'You Tube' public service ads:  you can check some of them out: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I1OItm7mA48;  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=egPSVtID-iA



Penang Ferry - pedestrians ride on top level

In addition to work at the office, I've had the privilege of traveling over to the mainland (via the 8 1/2 mile long bridge, or the bright yellow ferry - I've done that twice now - it costs about 40 cents and takes 15 minutes - a wonderful experience!) to work with obstetrical nurses and physicians at Seberang Jaya Hospital to help them set up their newly established Lactation Department.  It's quite exciting as they are assigning 4 experienced OB nurses to be the lactation specialists there.  Their department is one of the first of its kind in the region (currently there are only 4 internationally board certified lactation consultants in all of the state of Penang!) and 3 of the nurses plus one OB physician all plan to sit for the certification exam this summer, thus doubling the total number! I've spent 1 1/2 days at SJH so far, toured the OB, NICU, and pediatric units and observed the nurses' providing one-on-one consultations, antenatal breastfeeding classes ,and cup-feeding of premature infants.  I will be offering a special powerpoint lecture to all of the OB and peds staff this coming week and providing additional guidance with transitioning premature infants to suckling at the breast. I also learned how to make my own breastfeeding doll and 'demo' breast out of towels, nylon stockings, and cotton batting.  I feel quite accomplished!