Hong Kong mother of 5 opens up about ‘painful’ breastfeeding experience, gives advice
- ‘You don’t have to go through this alone,’ says mother who developed yeast infection on breast after childbirth, as World Breastfeeding Week begins
Juliana Young, a mother of five, recalls feeling helpless when she developed a breastfeeding-related medical condition after her second child was born.
The 41-year-old suffered from a yeast infection on her breast when her baby was about three months old in 2012, but she was unable to get any help.
“I felt a stinging pain in my breasts after feeding my child and I looked up my symptoms online to see what was happening. I couldn’t find any information to help in my situation,” she said, adding that she developed the infection when she was on a trip to Shanghai.
“I remember feeling so much pain when I rolled around in my bed.”
Young said she only managed to see a doctor and receive medication to ease her pain after she returned to Hong Kong. She also went to Kwong Wah Hospital in Yau Ma Tei, where she gave birth to her children, for breastfeeding support and advice.
Young said she benefited from a hospital support hotline with professionals answering breastfeeding queries, as she advised new mothers to not be afraid to seek help.
