Agnes Nemes-Chow
Agnes, originally from Hungary, has lived in Singapore for 20 years. She and her husband have 8 children. Agnes has a degree in Economics but following the birth of her first baby, she decided to become a stay-at-home mother.
Her first 2 children were born in Australia where she received outstanding breastfeeding support. Moving back to Singapore, she was surprised by the strong push for formula feeding and the cultural practices that undermined breastfeeding. Her own challenges breastfeeding a premature baby and struggling with delayed, insufficient milk production have spurred her on to help mothers who face breastfeeding difficulties.
Agnes’ passion is to support young mothers in all aspects of parenting, with a particular focus on breastfeeding. Besides helping mothers in her closer community, she has been volunteering as a breastfeeding counselor with the local Breastfeeding Mothers’ Support Group for 3 years. Her volunteer work has involved online support to mothers, leading mother-to-mother meetings, and facilitating breastfeeding workshops.
With the IBCLC qualification, Agnes hopes to give professional help to many mothers, including low-income families who find it hard to afford such services. She also hopes to influence healthcare providers and policymakers to promote exclusive breastfeeding and make Singapore more breastfeeding-friendly.