After waiting for five years, Lucia finally had a baby boy. She was so excited about it that she went for antenatal care immediately and did not miss a single appointment. One thing she learnt was that she should give her baby breastmilk alone in the first 6 months.
Being a first-time mother and having waited for so long to have her baby, Lucia was determined to follow all the advice from hospital including the advice to give her baby breast milk alone in the first 6 months.
However, when the baby was around two months Lucia started getting stressed because she felt like she did not have enough breastmilk to satisfy her crying baby.
Lucia was a trader in a competitive produce business and on a daily, Lucia used to wake up at 6am to go to the garden or to the market to pick supplies for her shop even after sleepless nights because of the crying baby. Her husband would also leave home very early and she was forced to leave the baby behind with her 12-year-old babysitter.
Lucia would return home to cook, wash and find something small for self to eat around midday.
Due to COVID19, business was not so good, Lucia had to keep working harder and harder and so was forced to maintain this routine. Lucia’s breastmilk kept reducing and eventually she could not take the stress of her baby crying because of hunger.
Also, her mother told her it was ok to give soups at three months because the baby was already expressing interest in other foods.
So, she decided to start giving her baby boy soups, diluted cow milk and porridge at 3 and half months even though she had really wanted to follow the advice to give breastmilk alone because of its rich benefits.