"Both my daughter and son were breastfed. My breastfeeding experience with my first child (my daughter) lasted one year. It was a difficult start as she was small for her age. I was told that I would not have enough milk for her, so I heeded other people's suggestion to supplement her with formula for 2 days. As a result, my daughter showed signs of rejecting my breasts, and I became terribly engorged. I was on the verge of giving up until my husband told me to stop with the bottles and concentrate on breastfeeding. He helped me with the expression and we got our daughter to suckle at the breast whenever she seemed hungry. It took two days before she calmed down and suckled contently. My engorgement was also resolved and my milk flow improved.

My second child (my son) was breastfed for four-and-a-half years altogether. He was diagnosed with G6PD and had to remain in the hospital for 2 weeks. As I had wanted to breastfeed him, we decided it would be best if I stayed in the hospital with him. We knew we had made the right decision when we saw how much he benefited from the nursing, since he was prone to many allergies.

Up until today, I am grateful for the wonderful experience I had from breastfeeding both my children. As a mother who has undergone and overcome many obstacles with breastfeeding, I am more motivated to help others overcome their difficulties. It is my wish for all mothers to be able to go through this unique experience for themselves.

Knowing that outdated information could jeopardize breastfeeding, I believe that all mothers should be given up-to-date information and evidenced-based research on breastfeeding. Given this, I wish to emphasize the importance of qualified professional help in lactation (i.e. that of IBCLC's and no less) available on hand, to assist you in overcoming any breastfeeding obstacle you may encounter."

Sincerely,
Doris Fok
Nurturing families since 1984