06/01/2026
🌿 Chumu Daily|A Breastfeeding Encounter in Our Community 🌿
Recently, a new Vietnamese mother, L, reached out for help in the Five Hundred House Community.
Her newborn experienced respiratory distress due to a short trachea and needed to stay in an incubator after birth.
During the time when mother and baby were separated, her baby was lovingly nourished with donor milk from a milk bank 🤍
After the baby came home, L felt her milk supply was not enough and wondered if any mothers in the community could share breast milk.
I volunteered and visited her home with my husband and our little baby.
With excitement and an open heart,
we communicated using simple English, gestures, and body language 🤲
I guided her through latching, and gently shared something important:
✨ Milk supply depends on how often the baby nurses, not on whether a mother is “good enough.”
I encouraged her to relax and find a comfortable breastfeeding position 🌸
We asked her husband to help with cushions and pillows,
so breastfeeding could become a fully supported experience.
🍼 Feeding every hour
🕰️ Nursing for at least 30 minutes each time
— all of this is completely normal.
I reminded her softly:
💗 A mother’s breasts are the most perfect and powerful nurturing tools.
Mama L is doing an amazing job.
We are all learning how to become parents, step by step.
We also shared nourishing recipes to support milk flow 🍲
such as peanut pork hock soup and yam sea bass soup,
encouraging warm, nourishing foods and plenty of fluids.
I’m deeply grateful to L for this opportunity—
to cross language barriers,
to support a new mother in trusting her own body,
and to witness once again how powerful women and mothers truly are.
May every mother feel supported, loved, and joyful on her journey.
Chumu — walking with you through every moment 🤍