Breastfeeding week:
Rotem Segal Bona, 38 years old from the Shemshit settlement, is a mother of three and a clinical dietician and researcher at the Gastro and Nutrition Unit at the Wolfson Medical Center.
These days Rotem is working on her thesis as part of her master's degree in epidemiology.
When Gai, her son, who is one year and 7 months old, was 4 months old, she began studying a course as part of her master's degree studies.
"The course was in Tel Aviv. My mother would come with me and take care of Guy, while I sat in the lecture hall. During breaks I would go out and breastfeed him," she says.
As part of her work, she flies abroad a lot and even there she doesn't give up, whether it's pumping milk or taking her son with her.
"Each one will do what is best for her. I felt that this is something that is really important to me, that breastfeeding is a part of me and that I want to fight for it and do it at any cost, even if it means flying my mother and Guy with me on a work trip so that I can continue to breastfeed him continuously and to that she will take care of him while I'm in meetings and lectures."
"Breastfeeding is a part of me."
Rotem Segal Bona, photo: courtesy of the photographer
Rotem understands that it is not easy for everyone, but says that "there are solutions, sometimes it requires creativity. There is no question of right and wrong. Everyone will do what is good and right for them."
For mothers who are debating and asking themselves what to give up, the career or breastfeeding, she says: "You can combine. Whatever you want to happen, will happen."
Keren Gretzman, 37, from Tel Aviv, is a mother of three who until recently managed cashier systems at Teva, and is still breastfeeding Rotem, who is one and a half years old.
Keren says that the workplace gave her the opportunity to return to work and continue to breastfeed in the process.
With the first child, she says, it was not easy.
Every day she had to look for a suitable room where she could pump.
"Each time they tried to arrange a place for me, but it was less convenient. The second child already had a small breastfeeding room with a refrigerator."
When they were born, Teva already understood the need and built four lactation rooms.
"The first time I entered the room, the housekeeper asked me if anything was missing. I told her that there was no mirror, because after you finish pumping or breastfeeding, you have to put your clothes in order. A week later, there were mirrors in all the rooms."
Even when she pumped, she continued to work.
"I felt that I didn't have to go back to work and give up something else. Nowadays, many companies allow this, there is a great awareness and you don't have to give up, neither your career nor breastfeeding nor anything."
"Still breastfeeding".
Keren Gretzman, photo: Courtesy of the photographer
"If it doesn't work out - that's okay too"
Lee Oren, 56 years old from Makdima Zoran, is a mother of five and a central district manager at the United Health Insurance Fund.
Lee breastfed all her children, even after returning from maternity leave, and is still breastfeeding Avitar, who is 7 months old.
She says that it was not always easy and recommends that women consult a lactation consultant after giving birth, because each child has different needs.
"My message to the new mother is that if it doesn't work out - that's okay too. I understand mothers who despair. With my eldest son it didn't work out and it took three weeks for me to learn to breastfeed and he learned to breastfeed. After Avitar was born, I hired a lactation consultant," she says and adds: "The combination of career and breastfeeding is the story of my life. I'm one of those who don't give up. My current job is very intense, and it's very challenging to make sure he only eats my milk. It's a very big dependence, and you can't keep him away from me for a long time. On the other hand, as a mother who is a careerist All her life, there is something in this moment when I sit down and breastfeed him. It is a connection that cannot be explained, it is my meditation."
About a month ago, when she had to sleep as part of her work outside the home, her husband brought Avitar to the hotel room where she was staying.
She pumped and nursed him during the night, and in the morning her husband returned to take him and the pumped milk.
"Everything is possible. It's a decision every mother has to make if it suits her. It suited me," she says.
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