澳門社會近年大力推廣母乳餵哺，早前社會文化司司長譚俊榮就表示，社文司轄下部門將首先積極推動母乳餵哺政策。其實政府已經在全部公共醫療設施、部分社會設施設有哺乳室，餵哺母乳的公務員有一小時哺乳時間等。根據政府統計數字，澳門的初次餵哺率已經高達 80%，比起十年前的50％為多，但現時的持續哺乳率只有20%，為甚麼明知餵哺母乳的好處，但卻沒有長久堅持，澳門母親協會指這跟澳門的職場環境，以及各方面的認知配套有關。

Macau has been promoting breast nursing actively in recent years. Previously, Director from the Department of Society and Culture, Tan Junrong, said that the Department of Society and Culture would be the first to promote breast nursing actively. In fact, the Government has all public health facilities and parts of social facilities equipped with nursing rooms. Civil servants who choose breast nursing will even be entitled to 1hour as breast nursing time. According to Government statistics, Macau’s initial breast nursing rate is as high as 80%, which is 50% higher compared to a decade ago. However, the current continued breast-nursing rate is only 20%. Macau’s Mother Association said it is affected by the working environment and facilities in all aspects in the city.

澳門現時很多媽媽選擇餵哺母乳，這歸功於衛生局近十年對餵哺母乳的推廣，衛生局定期舉辦產前講座，向有興趣的婦女、孕婦及其家人講解餵哺母乳的好處、方法以及定期請一些資深的哺乳媽媽來分享經驗及知識等。澳門母親協會會長林詩敏指，現時所知母乳中包含的營養已經超過 300 種，配方奶粉只能仿製到約 70 種營養。

A lot of mothers choose breast nursing in Macau nowadays, which can be attributed to the 10-year promotion on breast nursing by the Sanitary Bureau, which holds regular prenatal lectures to explain the benefits of breast nursing to women and their families. Inviting some deeply qualified breast nursing mothers share their experience and knowledge regularly. The President of Macau’s Mother Association, Lin Shimin, said that breast milk contains over 300 types of nutrition elements, while formula milk powder can only copy around 70 types.

另外母乳含有一種物質是配方奶粉不能仿製出的，這就是母乳中的抗體，對於嬰兒十分重要，因為嬰兒自的抗體只能在出生6個月內保護他們，而之後寶寶開始接觸外界更多，自身的免疫會不足，因此母乳就成為了嬰兒更大的保護。

Also, milk powder formula can’t copy the antibodies present in breast milk, which is very important to the baby, which needs more protection especially during the first six months. Later, babies will get in touch with the outside more often, but their own immune system is still insufficient in some cases, and that’s why breast milk is important in terms of delivering more protection.

澳門母親協會會長林詩敏

林詩敏表示，雖然初次餵哺率持續上升，但持續哺乳率卻偏低，較大原因是澳門越來越多雙職家庭，然而產假只有56天，每當母親的產假完結後，她們就要面臨回到職場的餵哺壓力，特別是輪班工作的母親更大。她們中途放棄的原因還有很多，包括對奶粉存有誤會，認為母乳和奶粉相差不大或一樣；家人不讚成餵哺母乳而偷偷用奶粉代換；哺乳室設置不善；誤解母乳媽媽服藥後不能餵哺母乳等因素，也使持續母乳餵哺率下降。

Lin Shimin said that the breast-nursing rate kept rising before, but afterwards it started to grow slower. The main reason is that there are more and more couples need to work. However maternity leave is only 56 days. After maternity leave , mothers will face breast-nursing pressure at their workplace, especially those who work on shift. They give up breast nursing due to many reasons, including misunderstandings regarding milk power, believing that they are similar. Families disagree on breast milk, so they tend to use milk powder to replace breast milk secretly. In terms of facilities, nursing rooms may not be enough. There is a misconception that mothers who take medicines shouldn’t breastfeed, for instance, which also contributes to the decrease in breast nursing.

羚兒的媽媽就是被一句「母乳是給孩子最好的禮物」打動，出於對孩子的愛，希望給她最好，所以一直選擇餵母乳，但餵母乳對她來說是一項艱辛的任務。羚兒媽媽表示，初生嬰兒需3小時餵一次，但剛生產完傷口十分疼痛，加上精神很疲累，再者，羚兒一開始便用奶樽餵哺，對乳頭混淆，寧願捱餓也不願意埋身吸啜母乳。

Ling’s mother was touched by the sentence “Breast Milk is the Best Gift for Child”. Out of the love for her child, she chose breast nursing, because she wanted to give the best to her baby. Breast nursing was a tough task for her. Ling’s mother said that a newborn baby needs to be fed every three hours, but she still suffered from pain due to delivery and mental fatigue. What’s more, Ling used a milk bottle at the beginning because the baby got confused with the nipple, preferring not to eat rather than be fed through the nipple.

禍不單行，羚兒媽媽產後第二週得了乳線炎，發燒高達40度，乳房紅腫及硬似石頭，痛不欲生，雙手痛到不能抬起，整個身軀彷似被撕裂，家人見她這樣辛苦也紛紛希望轉餵奶粉，但她始終沒有放棄，加上有專業的治療師治療，總算痛苦地捱了過去。

Misfortune never comes singly. Ling’s mother got mastitis after the second week of delivery. She had fever as high as 40 degrees. Her breasts swelled and got quite hard, which was very painful. It was so painful that her hands couldn’t be raised, and the whole body suffered altogether. Her family wanted her to use milk powder due to her sufferings, but she never gave up. With the help from a professional therapist, she finally made a full recovery.

對於將來計劃母乳餵哺的準媽媽，羚兒媽媽建議準媽媽需事前學習餵母乳的知識，包括餵哺母乳的優點、餵母乳的技巧和方法、了解乳汁排出方式、搜集母乳親善診所資料等。亦要向家人及丈夫表達意願，家人的支持是成敗關鍵。並要購買適合的輔助產品。例如嬰兒含乳不正確時會令乳頭流血、長期泵奶會使乳房皮膚破損等，這些痛楚都有產品可以幫助緩解。

For those mother-to-be who plan to breast nurse, Ling’s mother suggests to get a deeper knowledge about breast milk, including its advantages, technique and method of breast nursing, understanding the production of breast milk, researching good clinic information, among others. It is necessary to tell your families and husband what your choice is because support is the key to success. Sometimes, ancillary products will help a lot. For example, it would be very painful and damage the skin that sucking the nipples with wrong way ,.However, there are most products can help relieving the pain.

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