New mother and Content Creator of information surrounding formula feeding and motherhood Claire Kembabazi aka Mama Sam while telling her experience as a first time mum revealed that she did not breastfeed her child so as to regain her mental wellness first.
She made the revelations during The Groove Cafe on RX Radio with Crystal Newman as she narrated how her journey to motherhood was rather a traumatic experience.
“My pregnancy was very difficult, I think I got all the pregnancy signs and symptoms. For the first five months I had morning sickness, then I started spitting, got constipation, ulcers and then gallstones. I was in and out of hospital for like two months. It was so difficult and I was so traumatized,” she said.
Acknowledging that it's always a joyful experience whenever she looks at her now 8 months old baby boy Samuel, she admits childbirth can be traumatic. She experienced trouble producing milk for her baby amidst the pain she was experiencing during recovery.
“I had the baby through a C-section which wasn’t planned for so it was emergent and for me, I was fearful of undergoing surgery. When I got into the theater and they took the baby out, my next thought was resting and I forgot to feed the baby. He was given formula and I never thought about breast milk till it came in after around four days.”
Kembabazi further explained that without any knowledge and guidance of breastfeeding, she was confused about the process and her reaction towards one of the injections before surgery made her reconsider breastfeeding her child.
“I reacted badly towards the last injection they gave me in my back before the surgery. I was nauseated, lost appetite and throwed up a lot. So when I called my gynecologist, he suggested getting off the pain meds that he said may have been causing the reaction. But when I stopped taking them, I got a backache, and the pain was too much. I couldn’t sit so I had to find a way to pump while lying down. I think all that stress made the milk dry up,” she recounted.
“I was stressed and I had already had a stressful pregnancy. Now my baby was out and again I was being told to breastfeed him which I refused. When the milk stopped coming, I decided not to try anything else. People proposed meals that would trigger the milk, but I was in so much pain. I definitely received so much negative feedback from my family but I decided I needed to put my mental health first. So we went ahead with formula feeding instead.”
The mother of one attributes her strong-willed character as one that made her stand her ground on feeding her child with formula. 8 months later, Mama Sam says she was able to get back to her work, was healed of the backache and that her strong and healthy baby continues to feed on formula.
Not to discourage people from breastfeeding, the content creator said that she uses her platforms to guide and encourage mothers like herself who struggle with lack of breast milk to feed their babies on formula.
“I am always pro-breastfeeding but there is always that group of moms that just like me have gone through scenarios that do not enable them to breastfeed. So I am just advocating for formula feeding because your child will grow normally regardless. I also let people know the pros like returning to your normal routine faster and your child being able to bond with other people other than you. Of course, there are cons such as the cost implication but I wanted to encourage people that formula feeding is positive and not a bad thing,” she advised.
The Groove Cafe with Crystal Newman airs every Weekday from 4-5pm on RX Radio.
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