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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : August 3, 2021 1:51 PM IST
While working from home, new mothers do not have to switch to using a pump. @Shutterstock
Breastfeeding offers numerous benefits for the baby and the mother. To spread awareness about its importance and need, the world celebrates World Breastfeeding Week from August 1 to August 7 every year. COVID-19 has totally turned our lives around. A lot of things have changed in the past year. Closed workplaces and the practice of social distancing have made working from home (WFH) the new normal. This, however, has proved to be a blessing for breastfeeding mothers.
Here, Dr Aruna Savur, Consultant Paediatrician & Certified Lactation Expert, Motherhood Hospitals, Indiranagar, Bangalore sheds some light on how the work from home culture is benefiting new mothers.
In India, support from the extended family through pregnancy, birth and breastfeeding is the tradition. Through the lockdown, many young families could not enjoy this benefit -- they had to lean on each other, online consultations with their doctors, video calls to their loved ones, and also the internet for all their uncertainties and questions to be answered.
The early days of birth and breastfeeding are sometimes a sleepless and uncertain whirl--but WFH proved to be a blessing here--with the new father being home and helping hands-on as long and as often as he could!
Many working mothers were able to get back to the workforce online with more flexibility and less of the hassle of planning for daycare/nannies/pumping and bottles, etc, and all the heartache and expense that involved.
With work from home being allowed, mothers with toddlers found that plans of weaning had amazingly turned into extended breastfeeding!
A lot of women became new mothers, and during the phase of the lockdown, many thrived in that environment. It has been seen that the surrounding and the work from home culture is setting them up for success not only in their field and career but also as new moms. The new-age mothers are thriving in a work-from-home culture, and it not only makes their mood better, but it also uplifts their spirits and makes them push harder to work and achieve new heights every day.
Apart from that, new mothers who previously did not have a job had the opportunity to take up a remote job. The internet is a vast ocean filled with opportunities. This way a new mother can keep herself from postpartum depression and can indulge herself in work and childcare of the infant.
Work from home has its flexibility in timings as well, so if a new mother would be busy with her child (like maybe breastfeeding) she could take a break according to her terms and conditions. Even though in the workplace people do give women their privacy (while pumping breast milk) it cannot be compared to the work-from-home situations.
While working from home the mother and partner can divide the workload equally and have the childcare balanced between the two. It is a great system.
It is advantageous for the new mother to be working from home while lactating, as that way she will not have to switch to using a pump. The mother and infant bonding also continues as the mother continues to breastfeed and there is skin-on-skin contact.
As the child continues to be fed directly, the mixing of the baby's saliva with the mother's body sends a message to the body about which nutrients, vitamins, and antibodies that the child needs.
Breastfeeding in Covid times is an added protection to the young ones--antibodies from the covid vaccine pass into breast milk and are very beneficial.
Many families were able to make it back to their native towns and cities and basked in the support of grandparents. So, WFH as a fall-out from the pandemic helped build some very self- reliant young families. Parenting independently in a bubble for months on end created a lot of confident young moms and dads--and breastfeeding benefited.
