World Breastfeeding Week: A mother makes jewellery out of breastmilk
A mother decided to use her breastmilk for something a bit different...
It is World Breastfeeding Week and as much as we know that women have a wealth of knowledge, we are super surprised to hear about this. We are well aware that breastfeeding is best, according to many medical professionals.
But the truth is, it's not always easy to breastfeed. Many mothers have experienced this first hand. Many mothers have felt unprepared for the realities associated with breastfeeding. The guilt and feeling of not being good enough dwells on a mother who has been unable to feed her child or chooses not too and gets judged by other women and even men.
We have shared that each mother is different, just as each child is different. As much as it is highly beneficial for both mother and child to breastfeed, it's not always possible. As mentioned in a previous article, breastfeeding is as much a mental act as it is a physical act.
With all that said, we have heard about the benefits of breastmilk as a nutritional source, as a way of healing, and now we have heard that many women around the world use it as a keepsake. We were shocked at first, but then when we saw the many pages of mothers on Facebook who are making and even selling these jewellery keepsakes, we thought maybe we were the ones kept in the dark here...
Alison Hawthorn, a mother of four, decided to use her time during the lockdown to create a keepsake for her children and her.
"Hawthorn’s first successfully trinket, a keyring, inspired her to make more and offer her service to other moms. According to Keepsake Mom, breast milk jewellery is a baby keepsake, a symbol of the intimacy of the breastfeeding bond between you and your child, and a celebration of the amazing feat that you’ve accomplished as a mother." (MSN)
Alison posted her creation on her social media and received a good response from other moms. As much as it may seem weird to many, it's because it is not something familiar, so what does society do when they don't know something? They reject it.
Many people gave her some slack online because they don't understand it. However, Alison did not let this stop her efforts in doing something she was passionate about. She has now used this opportunity to expand her jewellery-making business to include human hair, pet fur, and ashes.
I had quite a few different people contacting me asking if I could do things like hair in pieces and different pieces of breast milk things, and I'd try and accommodate their needs.
Image Courtesy of Facebook