Babies' basic needs interest Utami most<\/p>\n
Emmy Fitri, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta<\/p>\n
Not all doctors will sit down together with their patients'
\nparents to talk about the illness and answer any questions the
\nanxious parents might have.<\/p>\n
But at St. Carolus Hospital in Central Jakarta, seeing
\npediatrician Utami Roesli give a talk-show-like consultation to
\nher newborn patients' parents is a common sight. And the session
\ndoesn't look dull at all.<\/p>\n
A pale, red-eyed young mother, who has just given birth a
\ncouple days before, quickly raises her hand when the doctor --
\nstill beautiful in her mid-50s -- enters the room.<\/p>\n
\"How's my baby, doc? Is he gaining weight? Can I breast-feed
\nhim today?\" The mother quickly bombards her with questions.
\nOthers, mostly young couples, can seemingly understand the
\nanxiety. They all look exhausted but are gaining enthusiasm from
\nthe ongoing babble.<\/p>\n
Utami nods her head while she says: \"There's no need to worry.
\nI want you to calm down and then you can produce a lot of milk
\nfor your baby. He will be okay if his mother is also okay.\"<\/p>\n
A white board, pictures, a cute breast made out of cloth and a
\nbaby doll have always been used during the consultation with a
\nnurse standing by to assist Utami.<\/p>\n
On that particular day, Utami spent more than two hours on the
\nconsultation. Not only did she talk about the reason she had to
\nmake certain decisions, but she also explained why she had to
\nprescribe a certain dosage of antibiotics for a 10-day-old
\nnewborn and other things doctors usually keep in confidentiality.<\/p>\n
\"Times are changing. In my mother's era, she did not think
\nthere was a need to reveal their medical decisions to her
\npatients,\" she said, referring to her mother Ediana Roesli, who
\nwas also a doctor.<\/p>\n
Utami is definitely talking about doctors in the former times
\nand probably some now who may think they are doing God's work
\nthrough their hands without any need to be questioned.<\/p>\n
She revealed there were three professions that need to
\ninteract well; patients, doctors and paramedics. In her case in
\ndealing with ailing newborns or sick infants, she strongly
\nbelieves that the parents play an equal role along with doctors
\nand paramedics to cure infants.<\/p>\n
Later on in the consultation room, which is in the Goretty
\nPavilion with over 20 infants being treated, Utami is still
\ntalking as she discusses the general condition of the Al-Gore
\n(the humorous abbreviation of the Alumnae Goretty for sick
\nbabies).<\/p>\n
The babies are being treated for various illnesses, including
\nblood infections and jaundice.<\/p>\n
But the mother of two is broadening the topic to include
\nglobalization and God's power.<\/p>\n
Utami was focusing the discussion on lactation for the young
\nparents and at the same time she campaigned the advantages of
\nhusbands getting involved in breast-feeding. She called them
\n\"breast-feeding fathers\".<\/p>\n
She said that women have a hormone called oxytocyn, which
\ncould spur breast milk production and this hormone could be
\nstimulated with affection. Affectionately, she calls it the \"love
\nhormone\".<\/p>\n
\"Please bapak-bapak, I beg you to help your wives in breast-
\nfeeding your babies. I believe you know best how to show your
\nwives love and attention. There's already an involvement,\" said
\nUtami, who is an international board certified lactation
\nconsultant.<\/p>\n
\"Breast milk is our baby's basic need. I believe all mothers
\nare touched if it deals with their beloved babies,\" Utami says in
\nan earnest voice.<\/p>\n
Then she randomly picks the topic of the health status of the
\ninfants and sweeps through the files one by one. Amazingly, she
\naddresses the parents by name, which was obviously giving them
\nenough confidence to raise their hands and voice their concerns
\non their babies' condition.<\/p>\n
Utami earned her medical doctor degree from the Bandung-based
\nPadjadjaran University in 1980. Her two siblings are also doctors
\nspecializing in otolaryngology and an internist. Her younger
\nbrother is the well-known Harry Roesli, a contemporary musician
\nbased in Bandung.<\/p>\n
Once a television talk show host on Perempuan at Metro TV,
\nUtami said she had a high interest in lactation.<\/p>\n
\"Everything begins from lactation. A healthy baby means a
\nhappy family and later, a better generation,\" she said about her
\nspecialty.<\/p>\n
Her trump cards are some photos of happy smiling babies held
\nby their mothers and in front of them, dozens of plastic bags
\nfull of breast milk.<\/p>\n
\"These mothers (in the photos) are all working and they can
\nproduce dozens of liters of breast milk,\" she says contentedly.<\/p>\n
Her main concern is to help the country have a better
\ngeneration who were breast-fed. And her next target is for young
\nfathers to get involved in breast-feeding their babies.<\/p>\n
Despite her campaign for popularizing breast-feeding fathers,
\nUtami does not feel she moves against the country's paternalistic
\nsocial pattern.<\/p>\n
\"I'm not against it but I pick up on its positive side. Unlike
\nin other countries like the United States or Europe, we rarely
\nsee fathers here who take care of their babies. The mothers are
\noverwhelmed with daily routines. If mothers are assisted in
\nhandling their babies, that would stimulate the production of
\noxytocin.\"<\/p>\n
\"We are living in a poor country and inevitably we will have
\nto face globalization. I can't imagine how our children will
\ncompete against advanced countries' children if ours were fed
\npoorly.\"<\/p>\n
All is quiet in the room when Utami pauses after her last
\nsentence as if she is giving time for the others to contemplate
\nthat statement. Tapping her fingers on the table, she closes the
\nconsultation. \"Okay, please get up and reach for your babies
\nright away. Breast-feed them and touch them, and hopefully they
\nwill get better soon.\"<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/babies-basic-needs-interest-utami-most-1447893297",
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