THE HEGEN BLOG

With air travel gradually resuming in many countries, many families are booking their flights to return home to see their loved ones. What was it like for Evey Clay (@travelthough) and her husband, Bret, who travelled recently with Keira, their nearly one-year old daughter, from UK back to Singapore?

The birth of a baby brings about much excitement to first-time parents and the same can be said for new grandparents. However, this transition of taking on new identities, roles and responsibilities can bring challenges as well as joy. We speak to Hegen mum Kai Ting and how her mum, Jennifer, cheered her on in her breastfeeding journey despite the initial setbacks.

Our Hegen mum, Yee Vonne, wanted to resolve what she thought were blocked ducts from breastfeeding, only to find out that it was in fact a rare autoimmune condition, dermatomyositis, and breast cancer. We also commemorate Breast Cancer Awareness month in October, here is Yee Vonne’s story.

It may be a surprise to find out that at only age 30, Evangeline Er is a Mum to four little ones, Solomon (7 years old), Alanna (5 years old), Dominic (3 years old) and Elliott (5 months)! As a young Mum, she holds many open and non-traditional views when it comes to all things related to motherhood, including breastfeeding. With experiences that run the gamut from delivering a breech baby naturally to eating sashimi and lifting weights during her pregnancies, this is definitely a Mum like no other!

When Kristen Kiong found out that she had PCOS at age 23 during a routine immunisation, not once did she think that it might one day impact her ability to breastfeed, what more her feelings about being a mother. In fact, conceiving was not easy when she got married at 27 as she used to have her periods only once every 7 months. She remembers  trying for a baby as an exercise in perseverance for herself and husband J. 

Charissa’s story is particularly unique, not because she struggled with breastfeeding initially but also because she had some problems getting baby to wean off the breast. Hers is truly a tale of gratitude and realisation that enabled her to give all that she could to baby Shao Qi with the love, understanding and commitment of husband Ken Goh as well as family, helper, friends, her bosses and the larger breastfeeding community.

What she thought was a painful bra and pregnancy weight gain turned out to be something far more health-threatening. Brave Mom and Yogini LC had to undergo test after medical test while pregnant before finding out that it was pulmonary embolism. Still she counts herself lucky despite the severity of her condition and is thankful to be able to deliver her baby safely by C-section. This is her story.

He’s what many people would call a “hands-on” Dad but doesn’t want any praise for it. For Ben Goh, being that way is just part and parcel of what being a parent entails. Still, we salute him and all loving, supportive Dads in the month of June as we celebrate Father’s Day! Thank you for being an equal in this journey of caregiving and co-parenting.