I must say my initial breastfeeding journey was fraught with trials and tribulations. James, my 10 months old boy, was born premature at 35 weeks in December 2003.

I experienced several breastfeeding issues ­ to name a few I had sore nipples for up to six weeks, as well as yeast infection. To make things worse, my baby was also suffering from reflux problems and prolonged jaundice.

My son developed jaundice on the 3rd day. The level was about 248mmg/mol, which was very high. He went for phototherapy for two days and was discharged a day later but the level remained at 175mmg/mol, which was still considerably high but the pediatrician felt that as long as we continue to sun him and nurse him regularly, he would be all right.

I wanted very much to follow our doctor’s advice, but the weather was uncooperative. It was cloudy and cold during that period and I could not bear to undress my son when it seemed so chilly. On the fourth day, my son’s urine was still brown and my milk had not matured yet. His stools were still black and not in a healthy mustard yellow. I panicked because all the books I read mentioned that this is an indication that the baby was not drinking enough.

My pediatrician was away then and I had no one else to turn to; no one I knew had any experiences with breastfeeding.

During my most desperate period, I called the BMSG hotline. I was reassured by the counsellor that the colour of the stools indicated by books were just a guideline that were likely to be assumed for normal full term babies and since my baby was born premature, things could be different. I was also advised to continue to feed my baby as regularly as possible.

I took her advice very seriously. I religiously fed him every two hours with each feed lasting at least 20 minutes. In fact, I was so obsessed with his feeding routine and weight gain that I invested in a 2 decimal place electronic weighing scale and kept detailed records of his feeding routine!

My milk finally arrived on the fifth day and my son's urine and stools was beginning to look normal but his jaundice persisted till he was about 2 months old. I remembered I was so stressed during that period. My mind was constantly filled with wild thoughts about how jaundice could affect his brain. It did not help when people around me commented that the yellow pigment would usually disappear in about two weeks after birth and babies with prolonged jaundice should stop breastfeeding and be fed formula milk instead. This was even the advice of some doctors!

I must confess that there were many times I was tempted to turn to the 'convenience' of formula milk. I would have given up breastfeeding long ago if not for the encouragement and reassurance from my husband and our pediatrician, Dr Belinda Murugasu.

I remembered that I was so worried about my son's jaundice level that I even requested Dr Murugasu to do a blood test for him when I visited her during my son's full month check up. But she simply told me, James is just having breast milk jaundice which is not a serious condition. I don’t see why we should make this poor baby suffer by pricking him.

Sure enough his jaundice disappeared at about eight weeks. During that period he was happy, very alert and active. In fact, he gained about 400 - 500grams every week and by the end of his third month he was a whopping 6.8kg baby. He was 2.455 kg at birth.

If I had known of all these issues I was going to face, I would have read up more on breastfeeding! But I am really thankful to be able to get help from the right people: other than Dr Murugasu, I would also like to thank the BMSG counsellor who took my call. If not for all the kind words, I would not be able to breastfeed James till now. Although I could not recall the name of the counsellor, I am still extremely grateful to her.

I hope through my sharing, mothers who encounter breastfeeding problems will remember to seek help and not give up on breastfeeding so easily. Breastmilk is the best food for a human baby. Maybe many people have the perception that only a lucky few can breastfeed without suffering or supplementing with formula. But when we are armed with the right information and support, most problems can be prevented or overcome and breastfeeding can still be an enjoyable and rewarding experience.

James was exclusively breastfed for 6 months before I started him on some semi-solids. I am still breastfeeding him today and would like to do so until he self-weans.

(Jenny Wee completed the BMSG counselling course in Nov 2004)