Help is close to their hearts
Mums donate breast milk to those in need
PETALING JAYA: Chern Pei Wei may only weigh 35kg but she has donated breast milk to 16 infants over the past two years.
Chern, who belongs to two Facebook pages that promote breastfeeding, said among the babies who had received her milk was the child of a HIV+ couple. The baby is about a year-old now.
“The father approached us for breast milk for the baby on Facebook and he received overwhelming response,” said Chern, adding that he was still seeking donated milk for his child.
The two pages on Facebook – Breast Milk 4 Human Babies Malaysia and The Breastfeeding Advocates Network (TBAN) – connect donors of breast milk and the parents.
According to Chern, mothers who sought their services could not produce milk or when the amount was insufficient to meet their babies’ needs.
“Sometimes, newly-born babies are admitted to the intensive care units almost immediately after birth,” said Chern.
“The mothers are not able to produce milk as the babies did not have the chance to suckle,” said Chern, a stay-at-home mother to two girls, aged two and five.
She added that the donated milk was fed using spoons or syringes until their mothers were able to feed the babies directly.
Mandy Chee, 32, said she was determined to breastfeed her baby from the time she became pregnant.
“Breast milk is the perfect food for babies and I wanted my baby to have the best,” said Chee, whose child Cadence Lee Kay-Ern is 10 months old.
Business development manager Chee, who is a member of TBAN, said she also learnt about breast milk and breastfeeding through the groups.
Chee said she also donated milk to her sister’s son who is a few months younger than her daughter.
TBAN founder Gina Yong, 40, said she set up the group in 2009 as many new mothers needed support and guidance.
“When I had my first baby 16 years ago, I gave up breastfeeding after just a month because I did not know how to deal with the issues,” said Yong.
She said her three other children, aged 14, 13 and 11, were all breastfed.
To access the pages, visit: www.facebook.com /groups/ TheBreastfeedingAdvocatesNetwork and www.facebook.com/hm4hbmalaysia