Volume 9

~ News From "Your Birthing Family" ~

Issue 2

 

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Charis Around the World

Tidbits From Ebony
by Elizabeth Carmichael

This is my co-worker in one of the offices I work in around the country.  We have a beautiful garden nearby where women can safely walk around.  Please pray for the women of Ebony who reach out to others, serving them, and working hard to see their lives improve.


Dear Charis Family,

Greetings!! It has been a rough and tumble month here in Ebony, with security getting worse and worse as we head toward a major political event this Spring.  Please take a moment to stop and pray for this nation.

I am so excited to report to you this month that I have started the Charis Certified Lactation Counselor program!  It is a gift to have this option now.  In Ebony, the majority of questions related to pregnancy or childbirth have to do with breastfeeding issues.  One in four children under five die in Ebony for preventable reasons.  It will greatly impact families if more and more individuals are prepared to help mamas and babies start off right, and address common problems which lead women to give up on breastfeeding altogether.

In my experience, some of the major obstacles to appropriate breastfeeding and nutrition of babies in Ebony are:

1. Dehydration and malnutrition—Women in Ebony are severely dehydrated.  I can not emphasize this enough.  It breaks my heart.  Many of their health problems could improve significantly if they had access to, and the will to, consume clean drinking water.  They are also very malnourished, often eating just enough calories to stay alive.  Most of their calories are from bread or rice, so they often do not have enough iron and other vitamins and minerals in their systems.  As you can imagine, this greatly impacts how much milk they are able to produce for their babies.

2. Improper feeding technique—It is very common practice in Ebony for women to allow their babies to latch just long enough for the baby to stop crying or to fall asleep.  This is usually under 5 minutes.  They pull the breast away and leave the baby laying on a floor mat.  Because it is believed that swaddling in cloth is best for babies, the children of Ebony are getting very little skin to skin affection, even when they breastfeed.  Women complain that their milk supply decreases after birth, and it literally takes weeks to try to convince them that the supply will increase if they will breastfeed for longer intervals, along with other interventions, like drinking more water and taking a bit of rest each day from their numerous household duties.

3. Supplementation—Women are consistently told their breasts are not producing enough milk or that the milk is bad for some reason.  Most families supplement breast milk meals with formula, juices, pre-chewed food, and many times with raw butter!!!  Babies get fat on some of these things, but, unfortunately, their little bodies and brains have not reaped much benefit from the calories.

4. Giving up—Women have no qualms in this culture about giving up on breastfeeding.  If a family can afford to feed their baby with formula, it is almost a status symbol.  This is very similar to social breastfeeding issues faced in the West in the past.

These might also be a problem in many other countries, but one of my great discouragements here in Ebony is that health care professionals and the community of women surrounding new moms all buy into these lies as well!  We need a revolution in Ebony—a revolution of truth!  Will you please pray that this generation of moms and babies will become players in a revolution that changes the whole society for the better?

Thank you for your love and prayers.

Love,
Elizabeth Carmichael

 

Our International Charis Family
Your stories from around the world touch us and we pray for your safety.
Thanks, Love and Blessings to every one of you!


 
'Behold, I will bring them from the north country, And gather them from the ends of the earth,
 Among  them the blind and the lame, The woman with child and The one who labors with child,  together,
 A great throng shall return there...And My people shall be satisfied with My goodness, says the LORD.'
 Jeremiah 31:8, 14
~~~
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February 2014