Working mother vs breastfeeding mother in UAE

Rym breastfeed

Dubai - Breastfeeding mothers say UAE's short maternity leave allowance conflicts with baby's nutritional needs

The UAE offers one of the shortest maternity leave periods in the world - just 45 days of paid leave.
For breastfeeding mothers, this short leave period is proving hugely conflicting when it comes to the development of their newborn baby.
Though there is an option of longer unpaid leave for all mothers, the financial constraints of living in one of the world's most expensive cities often takes precedence over spending more time at home with the baby.
Describing breast milk as the "best meal my child could have", Tunisian mother of two, Rym Kacem Boutayeh is a huge advocate of breastfeeding.
 
"With my first, my journey was great. That bond with your baby is indescribable," she tells Khaleej Times.
But when she was forced to go back to work after exhausting her maternity leave allowance, so came the challenges. "Pumping isn't easy at all. I didn't have a private room in the office to pump, but I was given a key to the IT room," she says.
Knowing that the IT team had their own keys to the room too, Boutayeh found the situation too stressful. "I could barely pump anything. I was afraid if someone would walk in."
Despite the pre-conceived modesty expectations of living in a Muslim country, most breastfeeding mothers here say they feel completely at ease when it comes to feeding their child in public.
"There are a lot of misconceptions on this subject," Wendy Best, a breastfeeding mother-to-mother peer supporter and designer of Love by JO nursing cover says.
"To the contrary, breastfeeding in public is very widely accepted and even encouraged here. There was in fact a law passed in the country a couple of years ago that stated children must be breastfed for two years."
And in Islam, she says it is every infant's right to receive breast milk until the time of weaning.
For Mirna Sabbagh, nutritionist and breastfeeding (lactation) specialist at Dubai's MyPediaClinic, the UAE is well equipped when it comes to facilities for breastfeeding mothers. "We have breastfeeding rooms in malls and many other public places. This shows we really are thinking of you, the breastfeeding mothers."
But as with most of the mothers Khaleej Times spoke to, the issue really lies with the lack of maternity leave days for working mothers.
"Breastfeeding is more difficult here because of the lack of maternity leave. There is often inadequate facilities to store the milk at work and often nowhere for a breastfeeding mother to pump during work hours."
Dubai resident and mother of three, Tatjana Dokic, has breastfed all three of her children. But like many others, she finds the balance between "working mother and breastfeeding mother" a struggle.
"The situation in the UAE is very cruel for working breastfeeding mothers. 45 days maternity leave is nothing."
Awareness needs a serious overhaul too, according to Cecile de Scally, trained midwife and educator in the UAE and Founder of BabySense Dubai.
"There is no official UAE campaign on breastfeeding. I think what would be beneficial is if we establish one." She says distributing leaflets in Arabic and English to educate mothers about breastfeeding would be a positive start. However, a dedicated campaign educating mothers as to why they should breastfeed is crucial. "Most of the focus at present in pregnancy is on the birth. The postnatal period is often not thought of, yet is really important," she tells Khaleej Times.
By the time the baby comes, breastfeeding suddenly becomes a reality, de Scally says. Despite feeling the discussion needs to be opened up here, she says the numbers (related to breastfeeding mothers) are not low. "Even though the maternity leave period is short, we do a good job of supporting women to improve the percentage."
And in her antenatal classes, about 45-50 per cent of mothers breastfeed post 6-weeks.
The gaps
In the UAE, Sabbagh says there is a shortage of professionals dedicated to breastfeeding education. "Lactation consultants can't work as healthcare professionals in the UAE unless they link it with another specialty." With only a handful of consultants available, this creates further challenges for mothers.
"The wait list for mothers wanting to see a consultant about breastfeeding is about two weeks usually."
Championing the introduction of an automatic referral system for all new mothers to a lactation consultant, Sabbagh says the creation of this network of care will benefit mothers hugely. "An online registry listing lactation consultants would be really helpful too."
For de Scally, the mother to mother support in the community is strong. "Most mothers we deal with are aware that breastfeeding is the right move for their child, and that's a positive mindset."
But what the country needs is more access to support after birth, she says.
kelly@khaleejtimes.com

Rym Kacem Boutayeh, Tunisian, Dubai Children: 2 With my first baby, Chloe, my journey was great. That bond with your baby is indescribable and that milk has all the nutrients they need. "I was planning to breastfeed until she would self wean, but that changed when I went back to work. I didn't have a dedicated private room in the office to pump, and that was stressful. On my first day I could barely pump anything. Day by day my pumping output started to go down until I ended up with barely a few drops after a month. It was a nightmare. Thankfully I had a big stash at home though. "When I found out I was expecting again, I left work to look after my babies. My attitude was 'work can wait'. "When Anna was born I had a different journey. She was very fussy, and all you hear is: give her a bottle! I hated that sentence. Supply is the main breastfeeding worry. I started pumping again to make sure I had a stash. "Then my oldest started asking for the breast again but she lost that suction reflex. I was feeling so guilty that she had to be weaned off early because of my work. So I decided to give her mummy's milk in her bottle. I'm still going strong, breastfeeding both."   Lorna King,  British Child: 1 I felt an instinctive draw to breastfeed my baby. I actually looked forward to the bonding experience. When I first fed my baby I got the really strong rush of love. However, I didn't anticipate how challenging it would be, but the thing that keeps me going is knowing how much good it is doing my child." "My first child is now six weeks old and we are still breastfeeding. When my milk first came in I cried a lot. My breasts were very large and painful and I was leaking a lot. On top of that I got cracked nipples. When he was five days old I was ready to give up, but a community midwife reassured me that it was just the first rush and it wouldn't last." "In an ideal world I'd like to continue nursing him for six months. I'm going back to work in just a few weeks. I will try to get into a regular pumping schedule at the office but the day doesn't always go as planned in a work environment so I will just have to see how it goes. I'm trying to stockpile as much frozen store as I can during my maternity leave to give me as much flexibility as possible."   Layla Alsuwaidi, Emirati, Dubai Child: 1 My mum breastfed us and the UAE encourages all Emirati mums to breastfeed their children. I was determined to breastfeed because it's natural. "I breastfed my child up until he was two years and six months. I was going with the flow until he just stopped asking for my breast. "The first time was easy. I was getting fed up towards the end, but now it's done, I miss it. "So far I have never given my son antibiotics, and I put that down to the benefits of the breast milk. "Feeding my baby in public was a breeze. I would do it everywhere, in restaurants, shops, cafes. I didn't use public feeding rooms, but the facilities are available. I've always used a cover up and I have never been disturbed. "I feel there is a lot of support for breastfeeding mums. "Breastfeeding was the norm, then somehow the fashion changed and mums preferred formula, but it's all coming back again. "Breastfeeding can be a buzz kill though. Even though I worked I made the effort to run back and forth from work to home to feed my child on the breast, in fear of losing milk production. "Hospitals need to step up and encourage mums to breastfeed automatically."

 
What the law says:
Federal Labour Law UAE Article (30): A working women is entitled to a period of 45 days of paid leave provided that her continuous period of service with the employer is not less than one year. If a working woman has not completed the said period, the maternity leave shall be with half pay. 
Benefits of breastfeeding:
Promotes bond between mother, baby Perfect infant nutrition Strengthens immune system More digestible than formula Decreases risk of type I (juvenile, insulin-dependent) diabetes, overweight/obesity Decreases chances of allergies
Support in the UAE:
Breastfeeding Q&A (Facebook) Just Kidding - monthly breastfeeding talk Latifa Hospital - breastfeeding group HealthBay PolyClinic - support, advice on breastfeeding BabySense - weekly 'Mommies Corner' (not always about breastfeeding)

• UAE

Kelly Clarke

• kelly@khaleejtimes.com