Message from the China earthquake
SIRIPATANA SIRITANARATKUL
My friends on the cyber community of http://www.thaibreastfeeding.org/ posted messages about miracles and human bravery following the recent earthquake in China. This is what I imagine might have happened on May 12, the day of catastrophe, when a major earthquake struck Sichuan province.
The story begins like this: In the residential area of Duijanyan, a young mother was holding her three-month-old baby girl when the building started to shake violently and began to fall crumble.
To protect her precious little girl, she knelt down, pinning her head and hands on the ground providing a space just enough for her baby to suck milk from her breast.
When all the chaos stopped, both were trapped but the mother's body gave her daughter warmth and her milk gave her water and energy during the time before rescuers found her - 24 hours after the quake.
Jiang Xiaojuan, a 29 -year-old police officer and mother of a six-month old baby, went beyond the call of duty and answered the instinct of motherhood. She selflessly breastfed eight infants who were orphaned or temporary separated from their mothers by the quake.
In any emergency such as natural disasters, breast milk is valuable as it is a clean source of water and energy to babies. Amidst the confusion of a disaster aftermath, where can one find clean water to drink or make formula milk?
Infants are delicate and prone to infections. If their food or drinks are contaminated they will get sick or have diarrhoea easily. Breast milk provides both nutrients and antibody protection against infections.
On top of that, in any stressful situations, breastfeeding helps calm down both the mother and the baby. The baby's suckling causes the pituitary gland to release a hormone called "oxytocin" dubbed "hormone of love"or "satisfactional hormone". When this hormone is released into the brain it usually helps promote positive social behaviour thus fostering bonds between mother and child.
Recent natural disasters such as cyclone, snow storms or extreme weathers may send warning messages to us that we are using up too much fuel and so warming up the earth too fast. We should go back to basics to preserve our source of energy. Breastfeeding is practically one of them.
Breast milk is one of the most ecologically friendly product ever! It's put in the most beautiful container designed by something called "nature". Throughout production and delivery process, it's pollution- free.
Unlike formula milk, the packaging of breast milk does not require paper, plastic or any metallic material. So by promoting breastfeeding we can reduce significant amount of trash and consume less energy.
Back to Duijanyan. A volunteer doctor who found the mother and baby among the rubble said with tears in his eyes, "At that moment we saw a red little face against the dead mother's grey breast that was covered with dust." Everyone there were deeply moved by the sight. The baby may have suckled her mother's breast until the milk ran dry and she miraculously survived. Although the mother did not make it she had sent a strong message to the world: "Breast milk is life-saving and represents the mother's purest love."
Siripatana Siritanaratkul is a paediatrician. For more information, visit http://www.thaibreastfeeding.org/ or contact the Thai Breastfeeding Centre on 02-354-8404 ext 11.
Prev
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
Next
