Doctor Katherine Kim is an advocate for exclusive breastfeeding, claiming it is the best option for a newborn child. In fact, she says the benefits are so good it seems almost like a miracle potion.
Dr Kim graduated from University of the South Pacific (USP) in 2001 with a Bachelors Degree in Medicine as a pediatrician.
Her passion for helping children prompted her to later return and complete her Masters Degree in 2010.
Now, she is a practising clinician at her own medical centre at 44 Pathik Crescent, Namadi Heights in Suva.
“Exclusive breastfeeding is the healthiest option for a child because it is the most natural way for them to get all the nutrients they need,” Dr Kim said.
“The interesting thing about breast milk is that it can be customised according to the needs of the child.”
She says breast milk is vastly different from baby formula although the latter just isn’t as good as the real deal.
Dr Kim says baby formula has a fixed amount of chemicals, nutrients and added water for each dose whereas breast milk changes based on the needs of the child.
If the child is dehydrated, the milk comes out thicker and if the child is sick, there are nutrients and antibiotics added in the milk content.
“It even changes according to the baby’s temperature.”
She says an added bonus for mothers is a reduction in inflammation, which is when a painful redness or swelling appears around the nipple area, which often pop up soon after a delivery and during a pregnancy.
Dr Kim says mothers need to establish skin-to-skin contact with their child, and this occurs during breastfeeding. A typical session with baby formula only lasts about five minutes or so, while a breastfeeding session lasts around 25 minutes, and this extended period is crucial to developing a nurturing bond between mother and child. “Nurture is just as important as the nutrients that the child is getting.”
In the past, every mother would breastfeed their child. It was easily accessible and free of charge, so both poor and rich people alike would exclusively breastfeed their child.
However, with the rise of the commercial era, more and more mothers have switched to baby formula.
“Only the rich people would buy baby formula at first because they could afford it. Today the working class people are the ones using baby formula more.
“There was a reversal from the olden days as richer couples turned to medical professionals, such as a paediatrician, for advice with raising a child. The advice being given would always be to breastfeed.
“Since a lot of families can’t afford to visit a paediatrician, they tend to continue doing what they think is best.”
“Sadly, this decision is often the wrong one as more and more families turn to baby formula,” Dr Kim said.
She said there were certainly cases where the child’s guardian had no choice but to use baby formula.
These reasons could be because the mother was too young, had health issues herself, she’s working, or the child was raised by a single father. But for the most part, it would be undeniably beneficial to the child to receive breastmilk exclusively for the first six months of life, she said.
Dr Kim hopes more work is done by the country’s leaders for the sake of the future of our children.
“We have a great team here in Fiji but not enough is being done to combat issues like this, it has become difficult to raise awareness.
“Mothers need to be made aware of the techniques behind breastfeeding for a better future for both the child and herself.”
