Page 4507 - Week 12 - Wednesday, 31 October 2018
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video
of how we can best remove barriers to women having the families that they desire and are able to have, and government doing all that is within its power to make that experience as smooth as possible.
Experiences of the first few weeks and months after a baby is born are profound and life changing. In a nutshell, if things start off with difficulties it can be something which follows a mum around for the rest of her life. A feeling of responsibility to do the very best you can for your child can be overwhelming, and mums want to do the very best they can for their child.
The motion notes that breastfeeding, where possible, is the healthiest start for babies or that being fed on breastmilk is. But not all mums are able to breastfeed in the usual way. It notes the value of having a breastmilk bank for babies whose mums, for whatever reason—and there are many—are not able to provide it. Babies being fed on human milk do better and, in particular, their resistance to infection is much higher than in infants who are fed on formula milk.
Milk banks are a system of breastmilk storage and supply which are becoming increasingly popular. But it is not a new idea. According to the International Lactation Consultant Association, the first recorded donor milk bank began in Vienna in 1909, with the second opening in Boston and the third in Germany.
My great-great-grandmother had twins and no milk, and a lady down the street breastfed her babies. Unfortunately, they both died. It just goes to show how there is keenness from other mums to help each other out. But systems are good because if we can control the health of the children then that is even better.
This year, as you will be aware, I gave birth to my daughter Liliana. It is interesting how this discussion on milk banking reminds me of how, as a mum who has now been through six caesareans, I have learned a few things about the function of the breast and how and under what circumstances milk is produced. When, earlier this year, I was preparing for Liliana’s birth—and I welcome her and my husband, Bernard, to the chamber today—and planning how I would approach my surgery for the various health conditions I have, as I was not very well, I realised I was likely to be in the intensive care unit after the operation to deliver her, and because so much else had to occur during that surgery.
It was weighing on my mind that it was a small but real possibility that I may not survive the operation at all. However, I did have a great team, and I had every faith in them. Nonetheless, I was thinking about the baby and how to best care for her while I was not able to be there for her. I remember being taught that you can express a little milk even before the baby is born, something that Ms Cheyne mentioned in her speech but that most people are unaware of. Even sometimes people who have had many babies are unaware that you can express colostrum.
I decided to express before the birth as much as I could. Over a several-week period I did that laborious work and froze it and took it to the hospital so that, while I was being looked after in the 24 or 48 hours after the birth, she could have the very best milk possible because she would also be born a few weeks premature.
Next page . . . . Previous page . . . . Speeches . . . . Contents . . . . Debates(HTML) . . . . PDF . . . . Video