“While breastfeeding may not seem the right choice for every parent, it is the best choice for baby. – Amy Spangler”
There is plenty of helpful information about breastfeeding as well as plenty of misinformation that would hinder successful breastfeeding. Below are some common myths that need to be corrected.
Myth 1 – Breastfeeding will come naturally
Breastfeeding is natural and normal but not necessarily easy! 92% of new mothers had at least one concern on the third day of breastfeeding (eg. poorlatching, low milk supply, breast pain) (Pediatrics 2013). Unfortunately, most mothers are discharged 2 days after delivery and the period immediately after delivery is the most challenging for breastfeeding. Mothers can get help from a breastfeeding support group or a lactation consultant.
Myth 2 – Pain is normal
Breastfeeding is not always painful. There may be an initial tingling sensation but if baby is properly latched, it should not hurt. Mothers are taught holding positions for bottle feeding. Try reclining with the baby’s weight against the mother’s body.
Myth 3 – Need to top up as your milk supply is low
For the first 3 to 5 days after delivery, mothers do not produce much milk but they produce a thick concentration of liquid (colostrum) that the newborn needs. At birth, the fullterm newborn’s stomach is the size of a marble (5 ml) and grows gradually in a week to the size of a chicken’s egg (20ml).
As a lactating mother’s breast is always making milk, thus the emptier the breast, the faster milk is produced to replace it. If a mother consistently waits until her breasts ‘fill up’ before she nurses, her body may get the message that it is making too much milk and may reduce the total production.
Myth 4 – Your new born will feed every two to three hours with each feed lasting for 30 minutes
Frequency of feeding will vary according to the mother’s milk supply, storage capacity and baby’s developmental needs. Growth spurts and illnesses can temporarily change baby’s feeding patterns.
During breastfeeding, the initial portion of the breastmilk (foremilk) has a lower caloric level compared to the latter portion of the breast milk (hindmilk), which is higher in fat content. Hence, putting arbitrary limits on frequency and duration of breastfeeding may lead to inadequate caloric intake. In other words, milk production has been shown to be related to feeding frequency, and milk supply declines when feedings are infrequent or restricted.
Myth 5 – Never wake a sleeping baby
Newborns should be awakened to drink, if necessary, at least 8 times a day. In fact, newborns who experience early skin-to-skin* contact immediately after birth for at least one hour (‘The Golden Hour’) are more likely to latch on well, especially if the mother did not receive medication during the labour or birth. It has been shown that separation, results in delayed response to feeding; exhibiting shutdown behaviour which in turn can affect feeding. (*baby naked, not wrapped up in blanket and place on mother’s chest or abdomen)
Myth 6 – A bottle or pacifier can create
nipple confusion
It is not so much ‘confusion’ but ‘preference’! Even though it would be easier to suck milk from a bottle compared to suckling from the breast, early introduction of a bottle or pacifier before breastfeeding is well-established is discouraged as breast and bottle feeding require different oral motor skills. Rubber or silicon nipples provide a type of ‘super stimulus’ that can result in inappropriate sucking technique on the breast when babies switch between breast and bottle.
Myth 7 – You cannot breastfeed if you had
breast surgery
Women with breast implants have been able to lactate successfully especially if incisions were made on the underside of the breast. Women with breast reduction may have more difficulty especially if the nerve endings around the nipple have been cut. (American Soc. of Plastic Surgeon, 2011)
Myth 8 – Breastfeeding helps to lose weight
Breastfeeding helps to lose 300-500 calories per day but your body needs energy (read: calories) to create breast milk. It is recommended that a few hundred extra calories are taken during the breastfeeding period.
Breastfeeding mothers may actually gain weight as many of them commonly experience ravenous hunger while feeding. Together with hormonal (prolactin) changes it can lead them to hang on to pregnancy weight or gain more weight. Hence, mothers should try improving the quality of the food and snacks and keeping up with fluid intake for weight control.
Myth 9 – Women who breastfeed get less sleep
Sleep deprivation is an inevitable part of having a baby which begins during pregnancy, when sleep needs may increase due to discomfort and frequent trips to the bathroom which interfere with a full night’s sleep. This is compounded in the postpartum period.
Studies have shown that not only do breastfeeding mothers get more sleep, but the sleep they get is of better quality when baby is in proximity to the mother. It was shown that breastfeeding mothers who bedshare got the most sleep. Mothers who were bottle feeding got the same amount of sleep whether their babies were with them or in another room. (Quillin & Glenn 2004).
Myth 10 – Breastfeeding is birth control
Breast feeding can be an effective birth control ONLY if certain conditions are met: such as baby is younger than 6 months of age, exclusive breastfeeding (no supplemental feeds of water, formula) only, mother has not started having periods. With these factors, the mother has a more than 98% protection against pregnancy.
As soon as there is a decline in breastfeeding, due to the baby eating supplemental feedings or nursing less often, the contraceptive protection decreases.
‘Breastfeeding is an instinctual and natural act, but it is also an art that is learned day by day. The reality is that all women can breastfeed, have enough milk for their babies and learn how to overcome problems both large and small. It is almost always simply a matter of practical knowledge and not a question of good luck.’ – La Leche League
The artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler 
看过1997年电影“憨豆大灾难”的观众可能会记忆犹新，憨豆先生不小心打了个喷嚏就将名画“惠斯勒的母亲-Whistler’s Mother”摧毁了。值得庆幸的是这仅是一个虚构的剧情，澳大利亚人仍然有机会自3月26日开始，3个月内在维多利亚国家美术馆(NGV)与这幅名画亲密接触。
即使不是每一对配偶皆有非凡婚礼故事，但起码他们最想得到家人和朋友的祝福。而盛大的晚宴通常在婚礼仪式结束后的夜晚，所有受邀的家庭成员，朋友与伙伴都会聚集在一起见证爱情故事。这时就严重考验奉上的菜肴餐点质量，通常在没有达到预期的情况下，客人们离开时会残留坏印象。
即将登场的住宅综合发展计划 Botanica CT Phase 5C，除了策略性的坐落在槟城最后自然区域，这个令人惊叹的别墅与半独立房屋优美乡镇结合发展项目，加上地点临近槟城威尔士王子岛国际学校，商业村，医疗中心等，完善的设备完整供应居民所需。而别墅的室内设计环节重任落在 Splendid Interior Decor团队身上，为了顺应当今消费者的品位变化，他们确保每一项设计都符合恩爱佳偶与家庭的爱之氛围，大部分的装饰件皆由他们的团队亲自精挑细选，打造完美家园，羁绊所在。至于集合自然光的天花板与窗户组合，还有和谐柔美色彩也营造了宽敞、温馨的舒适环境。
Andaman Property may not be a public-listed company but in the past 11 years, it had racked up accumulated sales of RM3 billion. This is an achievement that astounded many in the industry, including public-listed developers. “We are heading towards RM5 billion before 2020 and that year will be our 15th year anniversary,” Tiew said.
As for profit, Tiew said their expectations of a return for each project is not very high. “We don’t force ourselves to get at least 20% return, we are just as happy with 12% profit and this is how we manage to maintain our prices low unlike a majority of developers, especially the public listed ones, who had to aim for higher profit because they have loans to pay up and had to answer to their minority shareholders,” he said. “We optimise, we don’t maximise,” he added.
The property industry may be a competitive field but in its short 11 years in the market, the Andaman Property Group has racked up numerous prestigious awards and is on its way to achieve RM5 billion in development value. Right at the helm is Managing Director, Dato’ Sri Dr Vincent Tiew, who has led the group to achieve its phenomenal growth in the past 7 years.
纵然房地产行业是竞争激烈的行业，但在十一年来，安达集团(Andaman Group) 除了业务战绩喜人，荣誉与奖项不断，并将在未来力求实现50亿令吉的开发价值。而安达的董事经理-拿督斯里张孙通博士更是在这7年来披荆斩棘，带领集团业绩迈向高增长。
发展商有时每年可能只推出2个项目，因他们不急于交易，而且不与其他发展商抢地，安达选择的土地储备较为便宜，需求不高。“我们的战略是及时，JIT（准时制），所以在签署购买12个月内，我们将推出发展项目。”
现今超级富豪之争，不仅是如何享受生活，一般的炫富标配是豪华汽车，一艘停泊在附近港口的超级游艇，量身定做的专属时尚奢侈饰品，大牌手表、包包等……当然这是本能。
EZ MALAYSIA.NEWS 