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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
~~~
©2014 Charis Childbirth Services, All Rights Reserved
Feel free to forward this newsletter to friends in its entirety,
leaving all attribution intact.
February 2014 |
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