Pregnancy and Preparing for breastfeeding in the Philippines. (Photo Credits)
Had a wonderful morning at the office, when a good friend mentioned that she will be dropping by. My good friend, G, had a meeting in the building next to mine.
So we met up for some good ten minutes. G is due to give birth next month to her third child — after 11 or 12 years i think. I promised her that i will be her breastfeeding coach when the time comes that she will need one. And, voila! now is the time!
So here we are, setting an appointment for our one on one session. I promised her that i will send her a lengthy email containing my breastfeeding tips for her. She asked if she can prepare as early as now, and i just told her that maybe she can do what i did, which was to take malunggay supplements every day during my last three weeks of pregnancy.
You see, im no expert, but i’ve got under my belt, almost four years of breastfeeding experience. I have researched tons, and i even received a citation for being one of the top breastmilk donors in our local children’s hospital. And G mentioned, that my ‘success story’ is the reason why she will be needing my advice.
I will be sharing my lengthy email to her in this blog once i get the time to write it. Meanwhile, here are my tips to pregnant moms who wish to prepare for breastfeeding. Again, these are all based on my experiences.
My Personal tips on preparing for breastfeeding in the Philippines
1. Take malunggay supplements (one capsule a day — i Use Pro Lacta), two or three weeks before your due date, to help stimulate milk production.
2. Stock up on malunggay and guyabano tea, because they are good for encouraging milk production. you may wanna drink as early as now, from time to time. I find this as effective as the Mother’s Milk Tea, and Fenugreek available in health stores.
(Post Continued Below)
—————————————————————————————————————————–
You may also want to read:
- Where to get a 4D ultrasound
- Where to get a pre-natal massage
- Four household items you will need in your hospital bag
- Documents to prepare to help process maternity benefits
- Alternative places to shop for your newborn
- How pregnant mommies can stay cool in a Philippine Climate
- All about cloth diapering
- Local Breastfeeding Info
——————————————————————————————————————————————————————–
3. For your freezer meals (if you don’t have a house help or a relative to cook for you when you give birth), try incorporating malunggay and other leafy vegetables on your diet.
4. Try lactation cookies especially made for pregnant women. My supplier is paola loot. Just google her name. She will deliver it right to your house!
5. A lot of pregnant moms ask if they should buy a pump already. I believe what you can buy ahead of time are hand pumps since you will still be on maternity leave anyway, and you still don’t need that strong office pump. Besides, when you go back to work, you will be needing that back up hand pump (manual pump) so it wouldn’t go to waste.
6. Research, research, research. It is important to psych yourself to it, because if you are like me, it wouldn’t be a walk in the park. So be prepared, and reading on the topic could help you tons!
7. Choose a doctor (OB GYN and PEDIA) that will support your breastfeeding goals. Let’s face it, not all doctors are advocates, so better choose one who will sincerely guide you through your breastfeeding journey.
8. Talk to moms who have succeeded in breastfeeding their babies. This will inspire you a lot. I was inspired by my churchmate who breastfed her child into toddlerhood. She works full time just like me and just expresses milk at the office.
9. Choose a breastfeeding friendly hospital. It is good to note that even govt hospitals no longer allow feeding bottles. If you are giving birth in a private facility, let them know that you wish to breastfeed your child so that if you cant nurse him they will just cup feed him — avoiding nipple confusion and bottle preference.
10. Attend seminars if you can. There are a lot right now, search on facebook or ask your OB GYN about it. Some hospitals hold their own.
11. Google la leche league and get in touch with your local chapter.
Will be adding more to this list, and will be writing more on the topic. Thanks for reading and goodluck to your breastfeeding journey expectant mommies. 🙂 If you have the time, hope you could drop by my Facebook page and hit the like button, so you can receive regular updates from Happypinaymommy.com direct on your newsfeed.
Thank you so much!
A Happy Homemaker is a Happy Pinay Mommy!
Leaving you with this video on breastfeeding:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_1x1uQrWnvU