| 2007-11-November |
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Formula Program By Florence Judd  Imagine my surprise on entering the maternity room in Vozandes-Shell one
day to see a nurse breast feeding a newborn babe. The mother's milk hadn't "come in" yet and so
the nurse, who had plenty to spare, was helping out. I have seen this kind of thing happen many
times since then.Mother's milk is the best food in the world for the newborn, but what happens when the mother dies in childbirth and there is no wet-nurse near to feed the baby? Or what about the many babies who can't suck because they are born with harelip and cleft palate? Or when the mother, with eight or ten other children to care for, just doesn't produce enough milk, or when there are twins and there isn't enough milk to fill two hungry little stomachs? In Shell and the surrounding areas, babies in these cases are often given drink made from mashed fruit and unboiled water. We see many cases of babies suffering from various degrees of malnutrition because they have been brought up in this way in their early weeks and months. The Formula Program was initiated to help these babies and has now been running for about six years. It has had to stop a couple of times because of lack of funds but then someone has come to its aid and it has started up again. When a baby merits entering the program we note the baby's age, height and weight and the doctor calculates how much formula the baby will need for a month. The following anecdote was received from a jungle missionary. She knows the family of one of our formula babies who has a hare lip and cleft palate. "We are quite sure that 4 tins sent 2 times have gone to the baby, and they will let us or you know when that runs out. We are sure they will use it accurately, as all this is not new to them in how to care for these tykes - they are raising their third one with this deformity. And they are a responsible family. The baby's grandmother gave the first great example of saving these little ones' lives when she kept twins, which surprised the tribe, and then cared well for her two harelip children. So the family has been unusual for many years. Today the twins are some of our best leaders in different areas of shuar life! " |
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