Dear Lactnetters,
It's been a while since I have posted, so a brief reintroduction may be
in order.  I am a LLL Leader, now living in Hong Kong.  I moved here
recently from Singapore, where I sat on the Singapore Breastfeeding
Promotion Committee.  I have 2 children - Kieran Olaf and Ellianna, ages
6 & 3.  My educational background is Political Science, hence the aspect
of breastfeeding that fascinates me the most is the politics of
breastfeeding.

I'm not sure how widespread the coverage is in the rest of the world on
the outbreak of SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome), but here in
Hong Kong, it dominates the news.  People are very fearful in general,
and living amidst such anxiety is taking its toll on many nervous
parents.   Are any of you dealing with calls concerning SARS?  There was
a discussion on Lactnet last week about it, in terms of whether or not
an infected mother could, would or should continue to breastfeed,
considering her level of illness and the drugs she would be taking.  The
questions we are getting here in Hong Kong are from uninfected mothers.
A few mothers may have been in contact with confirmed cases, and
wondering whether they should still breastfeed.  Others are hospital
workers who express their milk at work and worry about the possibility
of contamination.  None of these women have SARS.  My most disturbing
call is from a healthy mother who is sending her healthy 2 month old to
Australia, but who will stay in Hong Kong for work.  She is in the
process of weaning her baby, and is asking me about keeping up her
supply for the intended 3 month absence.  That's not a typo - she really
plans to be separated from her baby for that long.  It gives you some
idea of the level of fear that is gripping many people here - that they
are willing to send their infant away for its own protection.  What an
agonizing decision it has been for this family.

We've reassured all these mothers with the usual info on the live
antibodies in bmilk, reminded them of good hygiene practice, and spoke
about the importance of the immune system.  It doesn't seem like enough
for some.  The panic runs quite deep, and emotion seems to be playing a
large part in their decision to continue bfing or not. Facts aren't
having the usual reassuring effect. I am not looking necessarily for
proof that breastfeeding is 100% safe at such a time, since ultimately
the parents will have to reach that decision themselves.  But instead I
thought it might be helpful to give them examples of similar situations
elsewhere, to show them the "keep breastfeeding" protocol is especially
warranted in such situations.  So even if you haven't yet dealt
specifically with SARS, I'd be interested in input from those of you who
have dealt with breastfeeding in the context of viral outbreaks or
epidemics of this nature.  What have you found to be most effective in
allaying the mothers' fears and safeguarding the breastfeeding
relationship?

Thanks in advance for any info you can share.

Concerned,
Tanja Knutson
LLL Hong Kong



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