Mother's Loving Support is a non-profit volunteer organisation borne out of the founder's desire to encourage and support women as they breast feed their babies while continuing to work outside the home.
In Zambia, breastfeeding a child is a socially accepted and encouraged step with the coming of a child, but many women in urban areas slowly transition to formula or other substitutes as the child grows or as they end their maternity leave to go back to work. Typically this happens at three months post-partum, though some women are able to extend their maternity leave in order to spend more time with their babies and nurse them for longer. When the time comes, many difficult decisions are made, one of them being how a mother can continue nursing while she goes to work?
Employment law allows nursing mothers an hour each day to breastfeed their child, and many women are able to go home during lunch hour to nurse. However, others face challenges in taking this time to nurse and this prevents them from providing breast milk for their children, thus transitioning them to substitutes earlier than is recommended. In addition, if women have not had an easy time breastfeeding, they are likely to stop at this stage. Mutinta Roni Maimbo, an accountant by profession, struggled to breast feed her first born, but with the birth of her second child, she was "determined to get it right." Mutinta acknowledges the surprise she and others feel when they realise that breastfeeding does not always come naturally and easily.
It was for these reasons that Mutinta established a support group to encourage women to keep breastfeeding after they returned to work; the charity also receives breast pumps which Mutinta donates to mothers who need to express milk and leave a supply for their baby during the day or maintain milk production. Mutinta says, with support from experienced or knowledgeable women, and a supportive environment outside the home, it is possible to have a fulfilling breastfeeding relationship with the new baby.
Mothers Loving Support (MLS) was established in 2013. Mutinta used Facebook to reach out to women who had questions or concerns about breastfeeding, to give them support as they went though this important stage in their and their new baby's life. "Some women experience difficulties with latching on, or some want to know how to increase their milk production." They post questions on the page and Mutinta responds, usually posting the answer with an insighful article to give more knowledge and information. Mutinta trained as a breastfeeding counsellor with Breastfeeding USA, and while most of her resources are with that background in mind, she has local knowledge to reference and draw upon in order to help these women.
To date, MLS has over 90 members, mostly young, new mothers yet with a handful of men. The majority of members seek support in continuing breastfeeding, and alternatives to incorrect information they may be getting from their social groups. For instance, despite WHO recommendations on breastfeeding, and Zambian society being open to breastfeeding, some women are encouraged by their family members to stop when the child reaches twelve months, as continuing to nurse will 'spoil' the child. Mutinta says she discourages women from giving in to this idea and explains that nursing is an important time for the mother and baby to bond, in addition to all the other known benefits. When women raise their doubts about pumping (expressing) contributing to long-term disfigurement of the breasts, she reinforces the idea that "Pregnancy is what changes your body, not pumping milk for your baby."
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