Mika’s feeding journey didn’t begin the way she had imagined. After two days of induction, an emergency caesarean, heavy blood loss, and high blood pressure, she was exhausted and overwhelmed. Her milk was slow to come in, her baby was jaundiced, and they remained in hospital for a week. “I didn’t feel great when I saw my baby for the first time,” she shares. “My body was not responding, and I really struggled.” Even so, she was deeply committed to giving her baby human milk. With the support of Christchurch Women’s Hospital, donor milk, the Rotary Breast Milk Bank, her midwife, and a borrowed pump, she kept going, latching her baby even when there was no milk yet, then bottle feeding donor milk, and pumping every few hours. “One day I saw little bits of colostrum and I got so excited. Everyone was happy for me. It gave me hope.” Now, eight months on, breastfeeding feels completely different. “She just grabs my breast, looks at me, and smiles. That’s something special. Only I can do that.” With no family in Aotearoa – Mika is from Japan and her husband from Germany, she says the hospital staff and donor milk community became their whānau. “Without their support, I would have given up. I would have thought I couldn’t make any milk.” Watching her baby grow and gain weight from her milk alone has been deeply affirming. Her advice to other māmā is simple and heartfelt: “Trust the process and don’t give up!”
