In November last year, flight attendant Patrisha Organo was on the news after she came to a passenger’s rescue by offering to breastfeed the latter’s baby inflight. She said she didn’t have any second thoughts about doing it when she heard the baby crying after their Philippine Airlines domestic flight took off on Nov. 6.
“Soon after takeoff, narinig namin yung iyak ng bata. Makikita mo talaga na pagod na siya sa kakaiyak. Bilang nanay din ako, alam ko ang iyak ng bata kapag inaantok siya o nagugutom (we all heard the baby crying. Anyone could see that the child was already tired from crying. As a mom, I know when a baby cries out of sleepiness or hunger),” Organo said in an interview with World Vision.
When the child’s mother confirmed that she ran out of infant formula, Organo first considered expressing her breast milk, but she knew that it would take some time. So with the permission of PAL’s line administrator and the child’s mother, Organo breastfed the infant at the plane’s galley.
Organo recalled the child instantly gave signals of latching as soon as the child sat on her lap. “I saw the mother’s relief when the baby stopped crying and fell asleep.”
The PAL stewardess admitted it was not the first time she wet-nursed a child. “I also once wet-nursed the kid of my neighbor,” she shared.
Wet-nursing is when a child breastfeeds from another woman when their mother does not have the capacity to do so. The World Health Organization and the Department of Health recommend wet-nursing when breastfeeding and breast milk expression are not possible.
A mother’s breastfeeding experience can be made a lot easier with a conducive environment and supportive people around her. Organo said she never had second thoughts of breastfeeding her child prior to giving birth. Her husband’s encouragement also gave her the confidence to breastfeed her daughter even when she doubted her ability to produce enough breast milk.
During the flight when she breastfed the baby, Organo shared that the support of her colleagues made it possible.
“There were only two female extra crew members during that flight but I never felt ashamed. Usually after inflight service and I feel na kailangan ko nang mag-pump, I’ll ask permission para makapag pump ako sa private area ng plane. And they’d tell me, ‘sige ma’am go ka’ lang (Usually after inflight service, I’d just ask permission if I can express milk for a while, and they’d tell me to go ahead).”
Despite the demanding nature of a flight attendant’s job, her work environment still made it possible for her to breastfeed her daughter even after maternity leave.
“Leaving my child after months of being together was so hard. There was guilt because I have to leave my daughter, but I see to it that I express breast milk for her and bring it home every single day. So, it is a big deal for moms like me that my workplace actually supports my decision to continue breastfeeding,” shared Organo.
She also shared that the airline has already set up a lactation station in one of its offices to support breastfeeding ground employees.
As mandated by Republic Act 10028 or the Expanded Breastfeeding Promotion Act of 2009, all public and private institutions shall give all breastfeeding employees not less than 40 minutes to breastfeed or to express breast milk and allot a breastfeeding station where they can privately do so.
In the case of Philippine Airlines, all breastfeeding employees are allowed to express their breast milk every two hours or when the employee feels the need to express. During flights, breastfeeding crew members are allowed to express their breast milk after inflight services.
As World Vision and DOH implement the Mother-Baby Friendly Philippines (MBFP) project that aims to strengthen the implementation of breastfeeding laws, Organo’s story proves that breastfeeding in the workplace is possible and doable.
Go to mbfp.doh.gov.ph for more information on the Mother-Baby Friendly Philippines project.
