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Breastfeeding has many benefits, association says

"The purpose of the association is to create a friendly environment for breastfeeding in Taiwan."

The Breastfeeding Association Taiwan (BAT)

President Chen Shui-bian's (陳水扁) daughter Chen Hsing-yu (陳幸妤) shared the benefits of breastfeeding in an article posted on the Breastfeeding Association Taiwan (BAT) Web site, which will be launched on 29 June.

A founding member of the association pointed out yesterday that breastfeeding is not seen as being trendy in this country and that the promotion of the practice faced many obstacles.

The BAT has 172 members -- most of them are intellectuals and 16 of them are males. Chen Hsing-yu is an honorable member, the association said.

Most of the association's 12 founding members are full-time mothers who have been breastfeeding for more than a year. Nine of them have breastfeeding experience of more than two years.

According to the association, six of the 12 founding members have university degrees and five hold master's degrees.

"The purpose of the association is to create a friendly environment for breastfeeding in Taiwan. We hope society can view breastfeeding as `human rights for babies,'" the association said.

It said there have been a few misconceptions about breastfeeding, including that mothers could not immediately breastfeed babies after childbirth and that breastfed babies tend to become hungry easily.

In her article, Chen Hsing-yu stated the reasons why she insisted on breastfeeding her son Chao Yi-an (趙翊安), who is now about eight months old. The article was written when Chao was around six months old.

"Breastfeeding can improve An-an's [her son's nickname] immune system, prevent allergies and strengthen the bond between my son and me," Chen Hsing-yu wrote.

Chen said in the first week after An-an's birth, she needed to breastfeed him every three hours. Each breastfeeding would take her half an hour.

Although An-an had to be breastfed 12 to 14 times a day, Chen says all the time and effort she spent on breastfeeding her son have been worthwhile.

"As I have been very diligent in breastfeeding my son, my breast milk has been quite sufficient. I breastfed my son throughout the day, but I still managed to save up to 1 liter of breast milk every day," she said.
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