November 2018 www.womanthismonth.com 30 PEOPLE | interview ADHUNIKA’S FACEBOOK TRIUMPH From frazzled new mum to Facebook community champion, Adhunika Prakash tells Liz O’Reilly what drives her passion for breastfeeding education. Visiting and speaking at Facebook Headquarters, featuring in a picture sent out across social media by the company’s world-famous COO, Sheryl Sandberg, and gaining access to a potential USD1 million in funding for her own voluntary initiative. It’s all in a day’s work for the Bahrain-based breastfeeding champion. Adhunika set up her Facebook group, Breast Feeding Support for Indian Mothers, in June 2013. She explains: “I have always been the sort of person who’s full of questions. When I was pregnant with my oldest child, I wanted to breastfeed because I had read up on the advantages. But, once he was born, I realised there was noone to ask things such as how long do you feed from each breast? I went through lots of websites but there is a lot of conflicting information. “You see the pictures of motherhood and everything looks perfect – they’re in perfect clothes and there’s no spit-up in sight. But, in reality, it’s hard and there would be long hours where I would just nurse and nurse. “When my son was seven months old, by that time I was in Ireland [with my husband’s job] and I joined an Irish breast-feeding support group. I felt like I wasn’t alone any more. You have people telling you they’re there for you. “About four months after that I founded the Indian group because there are lots of traditions that are followed, for example, in regard to confinement and diet – so I wanted something that was culturally sensitive and non-judgmental. I wanted to have someone on call that you could ask for personal advice when you’ve barely slept and you feel like a zombie!” After one year, the group had around 300 members and Adhunika teamed up with friend Madhu Singh Panda, who was also a member of the Irish group. Adhunika continues: “I wanted the group to be a real support to lots of people and to provide accurate information, because there’s an awful lot of it [conflicting information] out there. More than anything, I wanted to provide a platform that’s respectful – no mommy wars or airs of superiority for different types of parenting. I actually felt bullied on some platforms when I raised Adhunika The picture shared by Sheryl Sandberg With Ime Archibong, FB's VP product partnerships
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