Every single doctor, midwife, health visitor, doctor has given me a disapproving look and lecture on breast being best and asking whether I've given it a proper try etc without actually asking WHY I'm not breastfeeding. When I tell them that I had breast cancer when I was 30 and that I had to have a double mastectomy it shuts them up pretty quickly.
But I do feel really upset by it. I feel guilty that I can't breastfeed. I already feel like less of a woman having had my breasts removed, and now I am being made to feel like less of a mother.
There are many, many reasons why women might not be able to breastfeed and I just think the medical professionals should just ask whether there is a reason a woman has chosen not to breastfeed before judging and lecturing.
That's not unreasonable, is it?
MNHQ have commented on this thread
AIBU?
AIBU to think that professionals shouldn't immediately lecture on 'breast is best' without checking WHY you're not breastfeeding?
Bellabelloo · 19/02/2017 23:36
YANBU
it takes a few more minutes of their time and likely less in total when they're not having to spout their spiel
You are not less of a mother and don't for one more minute let them make you feel that way 
YANBU at all , I also had a double mastectomy (and no reconstruction) prior to having DS. A complete stranger in Heathrow airport once came up to me and went on and on about how I shouldn't be bottle feeding and when I asked her what exactly I was supposed to use to bf she told me that even people as flat chested as me could still bf! 
. Some people are morons.
It was pretty special Bellabelloo . Its crap though, I would definitely complain if I were you, you shouldn't have to put up with it, its definitely not you being hormonal or sensitive. What do you say to them? X
You've obviously been tnrough alot Op.
I've 6 dc. Only managed to ebf dc6!
No HCP asked after the 6 week check about how my babies were bring fed.
I never justified why i ff. I found with dc 6 the H.V really wasn't interested!
Its really not that big an issue in RL, in my experience
YANBU. They should not be saying about bf to a mother who I'd already ff as the decision has been made so all their lecturing can do is make them feel bad, not increase bf rates and I say that as a bf peer supporter. I would complain as you might actually make a difference to the other women in your position. Congratulations on your baby
We're not in the UK I'm not sure how it works there but it was all over my notes and to be fair all the HCP's who dealt with me were fully clued up. Could you speak to or send an email complaint to whoever is in charge locally to you? You shouldn't have to keep experiencing it, it horrendous enough going through mastectomies and all they entail let alone this insensitivity .
Don’t want to miss threads like this?
Weekly
Sign up to our weekly round up and get all the best threads sent straight to your inbox!
Log in to update your newsletter preferences.
You've subscribed!
OP YANBU, you are a mother to a healthy baby and you are feeding your baby.
Sycamore, you are wrong in your sweeping statements about "lactivists" and the overrated benefits of breastmilk, of course it is going to have advantages over formula, it is specifically tailored to the baby drinking it, breasts respond to the nursling's saliva and tailor the milk to exactly what that infant/toddler needs at the time. Don't be ignorant, formula is great for those who don't want to breastfeed but it isn't the same as breastmilk.
No doubt you will label me as a lactivist now and accuse me of being part of "the problem" too
To comment on this thread you need to create a Mumsnet account.