I fully intended to breastfeed my first child but he never managed to get a single drop of milk from my breasts - even though the milk was there. Health professionals all thought this could be overcome but one after the other they gave up - as did the breastfeeding counsellor, Active Birth teacher, Fred Bloggs... After a week (it seemed so much longer) a kindly midwife said 'stop beating yourself up and give the poor hungry mite a bottle'. He loved it. Blossomed. I expressed for 2 weeks before my milk dried up and then he had formula. So why am I writing this? Because I felt a complete freak. Everywhere I turned, books, the media and other mothers told me that my baby was going to get all sort of diseases, that I was failing him and was an uncaring mother. There was no information on bottle feeding and no help to be had. I was miserable and to begin with it ruined what should be a wonderful time.
My son is extremely healthy, bright, loving and funny. He has not been affected adversely in any way and neither has my bonding relationship with him. The only threat to my sanity and his health came from the breastfeeding evangelists.
Bottle feeding mothers are not evil. There is far more to producing a contented, healthy child than simply breastfeeding.
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Infant feeding
Bottle feeding pariahs.
45 replies
nobby · 01/05/2003 20:42
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