Dr. Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra: Bringing the culture of breastfeeding back
MANILA, Philippines - Makati Medical Center’s Dr. Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra is a curiosity among colleagues. Being the only dermatologist in the US-based Academy of Breastfeeding Medicine — an international group comprised predominantly of obstetricians and pediatricians — being faced with the question “What’s a dermatologist doing here?” no longer comes as a surprise.
Years ago, Henares-Esguerra didn’t know the answer to the question herself, but constant prayers, coupled with her passion for breastfeeding, led her to discover the obvious connection. As breast milk also passes through the skin, she took on the task of teaching moms the proper breastfeeding techniques to maintain the integrity of the skin.
Dr. Henares-Esguerra, who is also one of only six international board certified lactation consultants in the Philippines, reveals: “An obstetrician’s concern is the mother while a pediatrician’s concern is the child. But what is breastfeeding? It is the relationship between mother and child. The relationship begins with skin-to-skin contact, and the baby relates to his new environment through his mother’s skin. The care ideally begins during pregnancy.”
Henares-Esguerra discovered this connection when she trained for and took the international accreditation exam where many questions were dermatologic in nature.
Her campaign for breastfeeding stems from a deep, personal experience — being robbed of the chance to nurse two of her three children. Thinking she would be too tired to nurse after such a physically taxing childbirth, hospital staff kept her babies in the sterile confines of the nursery — and fed them glucose water from a bottle before she could establish breastfeeding.
When it was time to breastfeed, the experience proved heartbreaking: They either rejected her breasts or left her with bloody nipples because the babies’ natural instinct to breastfeed was disturbed by the introduction of the bottle. “From a bottle, the child drinks the milk passively. To prevent choking or aspiration, the tongue obstructs the flow of the excess milk,” explains Dr. Henares-Esguerra. “On the other hand, breastfeeding is child-led, with the tongue undulating, moving like a wave and actively bringing the milk out of the mother’s breasts.”
Henares-Esguerra decided to devote the next decade of her life to personally raising her two children. The near-death experience she had during the difficult delivery of her third child, and her subsequent breastfeeding of the baby, which helped hasten her recovery, led the doctor to establish the non-government organization Children for Breastfeeding, Inc.
The group, of which Dr. Henares-Esguerra’s own family is a part, educates families on the ways they can be of service to pregnant and breastfeeding mothers. “Children can show acts of kindness, husbands can engage in touch therapy, and yayas can prepare protein and calcium-rich food using Filipino indigenous fruits and vegetables,” she enumerates. “When a woman is pregnant or breastfeeding, everyone around her should be involved, anticipating her needs.”
Soon after, the Esguerras were invited to speak before international groups organized by the World Alliance for Breastfeeding Action and the Catholic Media under Fr. James B. Reuter who had their story immortalized in a film shown in major TV stations. Henares-Esguerra did not stop there: In March 2006, she sealed a deal with mall giant SM to have dedicated breastfeeding stations in all its branches nationwide. At the last count, there are 42 of these stations with almost 150,000 mother-child pairs enjoying the free privilege of breastfeeding in comfort anywhere in these malls.
She then spearheaded the catchy “Uso Ang Magpasuso!!!,” a gathering of 3,541 nursing mother-child pairs in Manila in May 2006 and 22,500 mother-child pairs in 595 sites nationwide in May 2007. These events went global in the same year with Synchronized Breastfeeding Worldwide where 10,000 mother-child pairs participated from 16 countries.
These efforts landed them in the Guinness Book of World Records twice, as well as the front page of major broadsheets. She also convinced then President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo to pen Proclamation 1113, to officially recognize the celebration of World Breastfeeding Week every August. Henares-Esguerra garnered many awards, including the 2008 Ten Outstanding Filipino Physicians and an international recognition from Soroptimist International of the North Americas.
These days, the 55-year-old Henares-Esguerra, who resumed her dermatology practice at MakatiMed, is brimming with ideas and energy on how to “bring breastfeeding out of the box.” Having established links between breastfeeding, general medicine, dermatology, and pharmacy, she’s now working on “encouraging breastfeeding research studies with all specialties.”
“Breastfeeding,” reminds Henares-Esguerra, “should be an urgent concern of all sectors of society. It addresses the issues of food security, medicine, economy, ecology, empowerment, love and faith, and everyone should be involved, especially health professionals.”
For more information on breastfeeding, contact Dr. Elvira L. Henares-Esguerra through the Makati Medical Center trunkline 8888-999; through the Philippine Lactation Resource and Training Center/The Breastfeeding Clinic at telephone numbers 701-4429 and 701-4430 or cell phone number 0919839-5555; or visit www.breastfeedingphilippines.com.
