How difficult is it for breastfeeding mothers in China?

Some time ago, a milk powder brand inquired about advertising. I told him the truth: I can promote your formula, but I am a typical breastfeeding mother, and I must breastfeed the formula until I am over two years old and wean it naturally. Therefore, even in advertisements, I will emphasize that breast milk is the best, and only recommend milk powder to those who do not have the conditions for breastfeeding. I am almost paranoid about anything I believe in. The only competition for milk powder is other milk powders, which are never comparable to breast milk. Breast milk contains natural resistance. Don\’t believe the nonsense that milk aged over six months has no nutrition. When Shengbao was more than a year old, he never got sick except for a small cold in winter and a runny nose for two days. Breast milk was a huge contribution. There are always people who compare the ingredients of breast milk and milk powder and come to the conclusion that there is no difference, or even milk powder is better. I think if mothers really do not have the conditions to breastfeed, there is no need to blame themselves. Milk powder can indeed play a substitute role, and they can just spend more time with their babies. But you can\’t advocate that formula is better than breast milk. Breastfeeding plays an irreplaceable role in establishing a close relationship between mother and baby. A mother left a message saying that her eldest son was forced by the child\’s grandparents to give up breast milk. The second child was born abroad, beyond the reach of her parents-in-law. She breastfed until she was two and a half years old. The parent-child relationship should not be much stronger than that of the eldest child. Today I suddenly want to talk about breast milk, because in China, the road for breastfeeding mothers is really difficult. First of all, the supporting environment for breastfeeding in China is too poor. If you are not a breastfeeding mother, you will not understand what a lactation room means to us. On May Day, I went back to my hometown to attend a good friend’s wedding. There was no place in the hotel where I could pump breasts, and the doors of the men’s and women’s bathroom sinks were open to each other. In order to prevent breast engorgement, I had to stand in the narrow cubicle of the toilet to complete the breast pumping process. When I came out, I was covered in sweat, and the sucked milk had to be poured out. I usually take the Holy Treasure out, but rarely find a mother and baby room. Every time I have to find the most remote corner, hide it in embarrassment, and ask my mother or the old fool to cover me up with a scarf. Even so, I am much luckier than those breastfeeding mothers in the workplace. Breastfeeding mothers in the workplace have all had this unbearable experience: carrying a breast pump and ice pack to and from get off work every day, enduring the pain of breast engorgement, sneaking out to pump milk like a thief, and being blamed by their boss for delaying work. Some companies don\’t even have a mother\’s room. Mothers have to run to the conference room or even the bathroom. They can\’t even carry breast milk. In the end, they have to wean their children early. A friend worked in a company that was about to go bankrupt with a meager salary for almost two years, just because it was close to home and got off work early, making it easier to breastfeed. I think they are the truly amazing mothers. Secondly, the public opinion environment for breastfeeding in China is too poor. Even stay-at-home mothers are often forced to wean, and doubts often come from those closest to us. \”If your baby is crying so hard, it must be because you don\’t have enough milk, right?\” I believe many mothers have encountered this question. I hope to give you some confidence here: as long as you persist, more than 90% of mothers can breastfeed. During my confinement, my milk supply was extremely low, and I had numerous arguments with my mother over breastfeeding. sheI couldn\’t bear to see my child starving and I had to add milk powder. One time I was so angry that I almost ran away from home. In this way, I withstood the pressure and survived the confinement period and achieved exclusive breastfeeding. This is one of the things I am most proud of. When I was raising babies downstairs, I met several mothers who compromised and switched to milk powder because of lack of milk during confinement. When Shengbao was one year old, my mother and my mother felt sorry for me because I had to get up several times a night to feed him and couldn\’t sleep at all. In addition, he would bite me and bleed every time he teethed. They proposed weaning him from breastfeeding, but I rejected him again. . If you don\’t get enough sleep, you can make up for it in the morning, but the sense of security that comes from feeding your child lasts a lifetime. After adding complementary foods, many elderly people have become the main force in the \”weaning theory\”. I attended a gathering of distant relatives before. When they learned that I had not yet been weaned and planned to breastfeed myself until I was over two years old, several old people’s mouths were so big that they couldn’t close their mouths. They looked at me like they were looking at a monster. Why are you spoiling a child? It’s so embarrassing for a two-year-old to still nurse, and you’ve already been told that you should be careful about turning into a mommy’s boy when you grow up. Many mothers are forced to give up breast milk under such public opinion environment. One mother asked me with great annoyance: My father-in-law, who has been practicing medicine for decades, has been weaning himself off breast milk since he was 8 months old. He kept saying it every three days. What should I do if my baby is almost 11 months old and can no longer hold on? I want to tell her, and thousands of mothers with similar problems, that no one has the right to tell you about breastfeeding. This is the most precious gift you give to your child as a mother, and no one can replace it. If one day it becomes difficult to continue breastfeeding, don’t blame yourself, because every gift has an expiration date. Do a good job in soothing babies during the transition period, and spend more time cultivating them. Use high-quality companionship to build a sense of security for them, and use more considerate parenting to create a loving space for them. The road to breastfeeding is difficult, but I am particularly pleased to see that more and more mothers are beginning to join the determined breastfeeding army. But what I look forward to more is the improvement of the breastfeeding environment – more breastfeeding rooms, more understanding and respect. If there are breastfeeding mothers around you, please give them more understanding, support and help, and don’t treat them as monsters or a drag. There is no need to define breastfeeding mothers by greatness, love is instinct. To love a child is to give him the best. What we give to our children is not the breast milk itself, but the health and companionship behind the breast milk.