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Support crucial for breastfeeding mothers at work
Breastfeeding day: Three mothers breastfeed their babies at an event that commemorates World Breastfeeding Week in National Monument (Monas) area, Jakarta, on Aug
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Breastfeeding day: Three mothers breastfeed their babies at an event that commemorates World Breastfeeding Week in National Monument (Monas) area, Jakarta, on Aug.8. The event was deisigned to raise public awareness on the importance of breastfeeding as a nutritious source for babies. (JP/Nurhayati) (Monas) area, Jakarta, on Aug.8. The event was deisigned to raise public awareness on the importance of breastfeeding as a nutritious source for babies. (JP/Nurhayati)
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span class="inline inline-center">Breastfeeding day: Three mothers breastfeed their babies at an event that commemorates World Breastfeeding Week in National Monument (Monas) area, Jakarta, on Aug.8. The event was deisigned to raise public awareness on the importance of breastfeeding as a nutritious source for babies. (JP/Nurhayati)
A glance at insights from working mothers who are voicing their views on breastfeeding in their workplaces.
World Breastfeeding Week, which falls in the first week of August each year, brings working mothers and their right to breastfeed their children into the spotlight. In Indonesia, breastfeeding at work is still considered a challenge. Despite the existing regulations, support and awareness are still at minimal levels. There is still a lot of work to be done.
According to Mia Sutanto, founder and chairwoman of the Indonesian Breastfeeding Mothers Association (AIMI), a lot of working mothers are not aware that they are supported by the government to breastfeed at the office. A lot of employers are not doing what they are supposed to.
'The regulations from the Women's Empowerment [and Child Protection] Ministry actually require offices to provide daycare so breastfeeding mothers can bring and nurse their babies directly without having to pump,' said Mia. However, she added that maternity leave in Indonesia was shorter than the recommended exclusive breastfeeding time.
Putri Amanda, a 28-year-old new mother, never planned to continue breastfeeding after returning to the office. She didn't give much thought to breastfeeding in general until she saw her sister-in-law struggling and finally giving up on breastfeeding. When her pregnancy entered the fifth month, Putri started looking for literature that could help her prepare. Luckily, her obstetrician and gynecologist (OB-GYN) and the hospital where she gave birth were very supportive about her decision to breastfeed Jingga, her now 8-month-old daughter.
Putri, who is in charge of social media at an e-commerce company, sees time management as her main problem. Aside from struggling to arrive at work as early as possible and to go home on time to nurse her baby in the afternoon, she tries to pump as often as possible at the office ' three times if her schedule allows, but at least once. 'I put work as a priority. I feel bad if I keep leaving my work station to pump.' Her miscalculation got her into trouble in keeping up with how much Jingga drinks daily. Some days, she even has to use motorcycle courier service Go-jek to deliver her breast milk home.
Working mothers who want to breastfeed their babies have to prepare even before they take maternity leave. 'They need to talk with their boss and their coworkers about pumping at work. They also need to ask for a pumping room from their HR department,' Mia said.
In her first days of returning to the office, Putri couldn't find a place to pump. She would use a studio, empty meeting room or even bathroom to pump. 'The bathroom isn't perfect for pumping because we know germs are everywhere,' she said.
She isn't alone as, according to statistics, 50 percent of mothers in Indonesia are pumping in bathrooms. 'It's sad because breastfeeding mothers are technically preparing breakfast for the next generation,' said Agus 'Rahmat' Hidayat, cofounder of @ID_AyahASI. 'It's ironic too that according to statistics, there are more smoking rooms in Jakarta than breastfeeding rooms.'
As for Putri, it was a happy ending. She kept changing places and settled on an electric panel room with fellow breastfeeding mothers. When her HR department found out, they were ushered out of the room because it was dangerous. Now the breastfeeding mothers have a special room to pump in.
A support group at the office is important as well. Mia suggested that coworkers could do a lot to support breastfeeding mothers at work by reminding them to pump and helping out with the workload. Putri agreed. 'I turned to my close friends who happened to be in the same situation as I was, I went on the Internet and am glad I'm not alone.'
She read the @TipsMenyusui Twitter account, which was founded by Dr. Fitra Sukrita Irsal IBCLC, when she stayed at home a lot with her newborn.
'I was just thinking about sharing my knowledge as a breastfeeding counselor with fellow mothers,' Dr. Fitra recalled. The community grew and her friends joined her team to work on the social media side. Now there are three other people in the team: Dr. Gita Tiara Paramita; Fajar Twiwaluyanti, S. Kep; and Wawan Sugianto, Lc.
'It's easy to give up without support. Social situations, influential advertising, misinformation from friends and family members or pressure from parents and in-laws are all threatening exclusive breastfeeding. The answer is just being stubborn about it,' Wawan said. Aside from sharing on social media, the team, which uses the tag line 'successful breastfeeding, nursing stubbornly', is working on a book to share breastfeeding knowledge.
On the other hand, @ID_AyahASI unites fathers to support their breastfeeding wives. 'We want to promote breastfeeding through simple movements and explanations that fathers can understand,' Rahmat said as he recalled how hard it was to talk about breastfeeding back in the days when the subject was still considered a taboo for men.
'It's easier today,' said Rahmat. 'Male coworkers can even easily tease breastfeeding mothers with no hard feelings. I always believe that it takes two to tango, but it takes a nation to breastfeed. Preparing a healthy nation is everyone's responsibility.'
He advises fathers to stay informed whenever their wives have questions. 'If you can browse for news and play games, you have time to read breastfeeding literature,' he said, adding that fathers have to be cheerleaders and guardian angels at the same time. 'Protect the mothers from being misinformed or societal pressure, send encouraging messages and take the night shift.'
Just how important are fathers? Putri said she felt better knowing that her husband cared about her struggle. 'Something as simple as him saying 'don't forget to pump', or asking 'how much did you get from pumping today', means a lot to me.' (Ruth Ninajanty)
