Resource for nursing mums

CHAN Lilian’s web development adventures do not just concentrate on grief, pain and illnesses. Last February, Chan helped a fellow breastfeeding mother to start a breastfeeding support group for mothers in Malaysia. (Ten months after her son Vincent’s death, Chan and her husband were blessed with another baby boy, named Matthew.) 

“I actually stumbled onto the breastfeeding group by accident,” explains Chan.  

It all began with an article she wrote on breastfeeding for Star Two‘s Parenting column, which she contributes to occasionally.  

“When the article was published, a few mothers started writing to me. One of the mothers, Sze Sze, said that she was interested in starting a breastfeeding support group. I thought it was a good idea and so I agreed to help her set up the group.  

“We were surprised when the group’s membership started growing. It grew so big that within six months, we could not handle the bulk of the e-mail anymore,” she says. “That’s when I decided to create a website on breastfeeding (www.mymomsbest.com) with a forum.”  

According to Chan, MyMomsBest.com was set up with the help of Johannes Tjoa, the husband of one of the group’s members.  

“I learnt a lot from Johannes with regards to transferring files using FTP (File Transfer Protocol). Before this, I was only able to transfer files individually using Yahoo! Geocities. With FTP however, I could now transfer entire websites consisting of 100 pages or more,” she says.  

“The first time I used FTP however, I accidentally deleted the entire website. It was hilarious,” she says.  

According to Chan, by creating MyMomsBest.com, she hopes to provide parents with a local resource of information about breastfeeding. 

“I noticed that many parents rely heavily on information found on the Internet. Although the Internet provides useful information, not all of it is reliable or applicable to Malaysians.  

“I feel that it is important for us to have our own local resources which we can turn to instead of relying on cultures, practices and things foreign to us.” 

According to Chan, one of the highlights of MyMomsBest.com is the useful articles written by Malaysian doctors. 

“Our forum is not your regular public forum. We have a dedicated group of members monitoring the topics closely to make sure that all information provided is accurate,” she says.  

According to Chan, she was taken aback by the success of MyMomsBest.com. 

“Thanks to the passion and dedication of our members and the generosity of our local medical experts, MyMomsBest.com is now one of the most talked about groups in town,” she says, adding that the group has been featured in local magazines and newspapers as well as TV and radio programmes.  

“I believe that the breastfeeding support group is one of the best things that has happened on the Malaysian breastfeeding scene,” she adds. 

“Our group has really made a big difference because now breastfeeding is seen as the modern, smart and healthy choice of intelligent and bold women. I am happy to know that more babies are being nurtured with the best – breastmilk.”  

The breastfeeding support group currently has 130 members (for those without Internet access) and almost 500 members on the MyMomsBest.com forum.  

Originally posted 2006-05-24 02:06:02.