Working woman or nursing woman — you choose

Working woman or nursing woman — you choose

Synopsis

Working women are compelled to juggle motherhood with a demanding corporate career

Working woman or nursing woman — you choose
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KARACHI: Every workplace should have some facility for working women to be able to breastfeed their babies, former Pakistan Medical Association (PMA) secretary general Dr Shershah Syed has said.

It should be made compulsory for every office, added the obstetrician gynaecologist. “Our country is not exactly woman friendly or mother friendly by any standards. We are not doing enough to help women have a normal life,” Dr Syed lamented.

He was speaking to Bol News with reference to the lack of nursing rooms and day-care facilities at corporate organisations across Pakistan.

These organisations reportedly offer an environment where working women, who are mothers, often feel deprived of basic facilities necessary for them to balance the double shift. This compels them to either feed their babies formula milk or simply quit their jobs.

Among many such working women is Waliya Wajih, 28, who completed her MBBS from Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC).

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Wajih got married right after her final year concluded; she resumed her house job at Abbasi Shaheed Hospital after her wedding. “I was at the end of my house job training when my daughter was born. But I could take only one-month maternity leave since I had just three more months left to complete my house job.”

Wajih recalled that when she asked the hospital management to provide her three-month maternity leave, which is a basic right given to expectant mothers in most organisations, they refused. “Instead of granting me my maternity leave, the workplace management told me they’ll give me unpaid three months leave and will deduct pay in this duration,” she revealed.

The Maternity and Paternity Leave Act, 2020 states that women are entitled to paid maternity leave of six months on the birth of the first child, four months leave on the second and three months leave on the third in all public and private establishments.

However, the medic shared a different story. She asserted that despite these laws, employers do not abide by them in letter and spirit. “We mothers should not feel guilty just because we want a career and a family together,” said the young lady doctor.

“Our society is observing a gradual increase in the number of working women. Therefore, necessities like day care and nursing rooms should be provided at workplaces so that women can continue with their careers and are not forced to waste their potential sitting at home,” she also said.

“After completing my house job, I took a break from work to look after my child; it has been three years now and I still could not resume my career,” she lamented.

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Speaking about other female doctors and the lack of day-care centres, Wajih further said, “My co-workers had their husbands bring their children over in the middle of office work and the mothers would breastfeed their babies in the doctors’ room. Some would even breastfeed in their cars,” she regretted.

Pink Pakistan Trust president Dr Zubaida Qazi stated that breastfeeding is essential not just for infants but the mother’s health as well. “Unfortunately, our general public is still not aware of the benefits of breastfeeding owing to a lack of education and awareness. Even if they are aware, society does not support or facilitate mothers.”

Dr Qazi added that nowadays, work-oriented females in their late 20s either put their babies on formula milk or are compelled to ‘sacrifice’ their careers just because they have to breastfeed their child amongst other important duties while raising their baby.

Speaking about women abandoning jobs, Dr Syed, who is also the president of Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health (PNFWH) said: “This should not be a reason for women to leave their jobs. But unfortunately, employers are not ready to retain workers who take off for breastfeeding. Just because of this anti-women attitude, we do not facilitate breastfeeding,” he lamented.

Benefits of breastfeeding

Dr Aimen Yunus, who serves as a paediatrician at Aga Khan University Hospital (AKUH), revealed that exclusive breastfeeding during the first six months of life — with the continuation of breastfeeding up to two years of life with complementary feedings — offers protection against infectious diseases, diarrhoea, urine infection, celiac disease, cancer and other chronic diseases which could potentially avert mortality and morbidity.

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Dr Yunus, who is also the mother of a six-year-old, added that a breastfed infant does not even need water for the first six months as breast milk consists of 87 per cent water.

However, research conducted by the AKUH School of Nursing senior instructor Shela Akbar Ali Hirani revealed that in Pakistan, the decline among women breastfeeding their children has been attributed to the growing percentage of working women and lack of breastfeeding support at the workplace.

The National Nutrition Survey (2018) stated that only 45.8pc of infants are given breast milk within one hour after delivery. Likewise, the practice of exclusive breastfeeding was only 48.4pc in 2018.

“Mothers who breastfeed have a reduced risk of ovarian and breast cancer, two leading causes of death among women,” Dr Yunus revealed.

Echoing her views, Dr Syed said, “Breastfeeding is the most important step in the first minute of a baby’s life. It should be able to begin sucking as soon as possible after birth and should continue for at least two years.”

He maintained that it’s great for the mother too, emotionally and physically.

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Many renowned organisations in Karachi do not have a nursing room for female employees within the organisation. When Bol News reached out to these employers, some of them claimed they are in the process of developing such facilities while others failed to respond.

An employee at a lubricants company, on condition of anonymity, claimed that there is no day care in the organisation and their local HR department feels that there are too many legal formalities that they will have to cater to in order to provide a nursing room. “Moreover, there is no space as such in the building for it.”

Amun Siddiqui, 27, became the mother of a baby boy three years ago. She was reportedly at the peak of her career and was doing exceptionally well and hence, did not want her baby to become a “hindrance to her growth.”

She breastfed her child for three months during her maternity leave. But after resuming work, she switched to formula milk for her baby due to the lack of a nursing room in her organisation. The office where she works does not provide any day care or nursing facilities, though several young women work there who could benefit from it.

When Bol News reached out to her employer regarding the company’s breastfeeding policies and facilities, the officials turned down the request for a comment.

“I remember my son used to get sick a lot after I started giving him formula milk,” recalled Amun.

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The AKUH paediatrician revealed that formula milk is quite common among working mothers. However, she stated that even housewives prefer formula over breast milk due to handiness.

According to Dr Syed, nothing is comparable to breastfeeding. “Formula feeding is never good for the baby. It is, in fact, dangerous, expensive and can cause many health problems,” he warned.

Pakistan introduced a Protection of Breastfeeding and Child Nutrition Ordinance in October 2002 to restrict the promotion of infant formula milk. The ordinance prohibits the marketing of infant formula as a substitute for mother’s milk. Healthcare workers are prohibited from accepting any gifts or samples from the formula milk companies and they should promote breastfeeding, as per the Journal of Pakistan Medical Association.

Speaking about the convenience of giving formula milk, Wajih highlighted the majority of the women she knew give formula to their babies as it is “effortless to give.”

“It’s easier for moms to handle whereas nursing is relatively difficult and takes a lot of effort, but the benefits are long-term,” she explained. “Thankfully, I never had to go to the doctors, although, my child got sick, it was mild enough to be treated at home and the same goes for some of the mothers I know who have breastfed,” said the KMDC graduate.

According to Dr Qazi, breastfeeding greatly strengthens the immunity of a child. “The first milk produced by a mother, colostrum, is slightly yellowish in colour and rich in nutrients, it is best for the production of antibodies in the baby, especially during the times of coronavirus,” she said. “Unfortunately, due to a lack of awareness, mothers discard that milk,” the Pink Pakistan Trust president added.

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Dr Qazi said expectant females should be counselled and trained by doctors and nurses throughout their pregnancy regarding breastfeeding.

According to Dr Syed, Pakistan National Forum on Women’s Health was already providing guidance and counselling on this. “We promote breastfeeding at PNFWH, all midwives we train in Pakistan are specially trained to promote breastfeeding,” he said and added, “We do campaigns on and off for breastfeeding to protect the mothers.”

According to Dr Yunus, healthcare organisations must launch campaigns regarding the importance of breastfeeding which should also involve the father and grandparents of the child.

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