More mums breastfeeding successfully, but basic struggles persist: KKH study
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A new KKH study shows that mothers want to breastfeed, and can successfully do so when they receive timely intervention and support.
PHOTO: ADOBE STOCK
- Many Singaporean mothers want to breastfeed, but quit early due to challenges like nipple pain, insufficient milk, and lack of timely support from family and workplace.
- Exclusive breastfeeding rates in Singapore are low compared to other developed countries, but a recent study shows higher rates when mothers receive robust hospital and community support.
- Experts stress the need for better antenatal education, ongoing lactation support, family involvement, and societal acceptance to help mothers sustain breastfeeding longer.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – When Ponmani Suppiah was pregnant with her first child in 2020, she did not think about breastfeeding at first. No one she knew had succeeded at it.
But she recalled being curious about the packs of expressed breast milk that parents would pass to her for their children at the infant-care centre where she worked a few years earlier.
