Interview 29
One son (mixed feeding) born in Thailand, one (exclusive breastfeeding) in Britain. Very different health systems and support. Positioning problems, crying babies. Learned by observing other women.
This Thai woman came to Britain to complete her doctorate and with one son born in Thailand and another in Britain is in a good position to discuss the differences in perinatal care and cultural practices between the two countries. In Thailand, she had no antenatal instruction and a doctor to attend her elective caesarean birth. In Britain, she enjoyed her antenatal classes and found them informative but was ‘scared’ when she realised that she would have only a midwife to attend her at her natural birth. In Thailand, her parents looked after the baby while she went back to work. They fed him infant formula through a bottle. She found this very stressful and cried and cried. In Britain, she was able to care for her baby herself and watch his development. She brought her own nanny from Thailand to help with the children. She had breastfeeding positioning problems with both babies. With the first, she went to a breastfeeding clinic in Thailand and was taught to use a lactaid device to encourage her son to suck. With the second, besides calling the British emergency midwifery service and the Thai breastfeeding clinic, she observed the other mothers at her postnatal exercise class and learned by watching them. Another big difference between the two cultures is the attitude towards breastfeeding in public. She has done it in Britain without any problems but in Thailand her husband was embarrassed and other women disapproved.