WHEN Joanne Massey’s second child, Edward, was born six months ago, she knew she wanted to breastfeed him, but also, if possible, donate to the milk bank.
Weighing in at just over 11lbs, Edward fed for 50 minutes soon after he was born and it seemed like establishing feeding would be no problem.
However, a few months before Edward was born, Joanne’s family found out her father, Jim Watson, had cancer.
She explained: “Eventually we would learn it was terminal. So my stress levels were abnormally high.
“I soon felt like I couldn’t feed Edward enough, stress got the better of me at times and my brilliant health visitor Maura pointed me to a local breastfeeding group and also another brilliant lady, my breastfeeding peer support worker Aine Jordan-Doxey, who just completely gave me the confidence and support to keep going.
“The peer breastfeeding group is hosted by a midwife/health visitor and contains a beautiful bunch of souls who are just there for each other. We’re all in the same boat and through this group I have received many tips, tricks and even friends.”
Despite Joanne’s determination to breastfeed Edward, it wasn’t all plain sailing.
“Breastfeeding is just the most beautiful thing.Yes it can be difficult and absolutely frustrating at times but the benefits far outweigh those short blips,” she said.
“The best advice I’ve ever heard — ‘don’t give up on a bad day’.On a rough day, breastfeeding Edward gave me comfort, knowing I was the reason he is full and happy made me feel so good.
“Aine gave me so much advice, including certain foods to eat to boost milk supply. Oats, they’re your best friend! And you cannot drink enough water.”
Soon Joanne had more milk that Edward could take so she began collecting extra milk for the milk bank.
She said: “The bottles arrived and I filled the first 100ml on December 21 last year. The donation was nearly full in a month but sadly my dad passed away on January 27 at the age of 70. There was a few weeks with no donations as my milk supply ped to an all-time low. It’s just incredible what stress can do to your body.
“Well, Aine was there again, checking in, keeping me in chat, and keeping me motivated to keep breastfeeding. I am very lucky to have a wonderful, supportive husband, a close knit family and a close circle of best friends who have been tremendous during this very difficult time.”
Joanne went on to complete her donation of four litres of milk she calls “liquid gold” on Mother’s Day and wants to thank Aine for all her help and support.
She said: “I fully support every mother’s choice to either breastfeed or bottle-feed but if anyone was struggling to breastfeed I would strongly recommend taking the support that’s available.
“Personally I am continuing to breastfeed because it gives me a little comfort in this time of grief, it’s a moment where I just look into his eyes and feel so needed and loved. So not only for the instantly available nutrition and comfort to my son but for those moments of joy I get from it too.”
Aine says she is so proud of Joanne — not only for continuing to breastfeed during the emotional time of her father’s illness and death but also for contributing four litres of milk to the Trust’s milk bank.
The mother-of-three’s own experience of breastfeeding had been rewarding but also not without its challenges.
While she was living in England at the time, she recalled a time when one of her children was not thriving while she was feeding them.
“My doctor and my health visitor both told me to stop breastfeeding my son and it was so frustrating as I knew that was not the problem so I continued on and it turned out that there was something else wrong.”
She began supporting Joanne in November last year when Edward was five weeks old.
“Joanne was exhausted and had been through some difficult nights where Edward wasn’t sleeping and was screaming through the night.
I remember speaking with her about developmental leaps and what to expect at this stage and the normal infant sleep patterns,” said Aine.
“From the beginning I could tell Joanne had so much passion for breastfeeding and wanted to succeed in every way. Joanne began expressing enough to give Edward a bottle and soon after he started sleeping better, just in time for her toddler to stop sleeping through. Joanne never let this stop her and carried on with minimal sleep.”
Aine said that when Joanne first mentioned to her about the possibility of donating milk, there were only 20 donors on the Northern Ireland milk bank.
She said” “I was so proud as Joanne was the first of my mums to donate and it honestly made me smile at the thought. As usual Joanne just laughed and said it was no big deal as she enjoyed it. It was the first time I disagreed with her as I thought she was doing an extraordinary thing.
“When I opened her message and saw Edward surrounded by four litres of expressed milk for the milk bank, I was blown away again. What an incredible gift for the sick babies in the
neonatal units.
“Not only was Joanne potty training a toddler and breastfeeding on demand, but she was expressing for the milk bank. I am so thankful to have been a part of her journey. So often there isn’t enough support available for mums especially with breastfeeding, and Covid made it more difficult as the usual support groups had all closed. That’s why peer support is so valuable as it provides one to one support for mums at the most important time.”
Aine highlighted the need for support for breastfeeding mums. “We need to be offering all mums support from the very first chance which is the case for a lot, but sometimes mums don’t know about us until it’s too late. “I am thankful to Joanne for sharing this experience with me and I know we will still be in touch for a long time.
“And even though I’m sure she will downplay what she has achieved, I can honestly say I am so proud of her and all her hard work.”
Mothers can be referred to the Trust’s breastfeeding support worker through midwifery and health visiting services.