What do expectant mums want to know about breastfeeding then?

[FooFoo]

The reason I ask is not to start an argument, but because I am going into an antenatal class next week to talk to the mums as a mother supporter.

I and other mums will also be able to offer support after babies are born and are able to refer mums onto a bfc if needed.

But having read all the discussions so far what is the best way to keep everyone happy.

[starlover]

things I wasn't helped with that I wish i had been:

1.) it isn't as easy as it looks! DS refused to latch on and just screamed when I attempted to feed him.... i had only been told that all babies have the "rooting2 reflex so figured it would be plain sailing... how wrong I was!!!

2.) was told that ds needed formula as he wouldn't feed, which he was given in a bottle.
i was helped to express 3 times in the 4 days i was in hospital!
Was told by a midwife before I left that I should have been expressing every 3/4 hours so that he could have the colostrum, that he shouldn't have been given formula (just my expressed milk), and that he shouldn;'t have been given a bottle!!!
How helpful!

I am not sure if that helps at all... but because I had assumed that b/f would be easy, I had no idea what to do when things didn't work out.
Had I been informed to start with I wouldn't have let them bottle feed him, and I would have made sure I was expressing enough for him.

I was given no advice on breastfeeding counsellors either...

So, I guess what I am saying is that if I was doing it again I would have liked to know what to do if things went wrong and the baby wouldn't feed, my options if that were the case, and who to turn to if my hospital weren't very supportive.

[starlover]

oh, btw... i persevered with the b/f despite ds being bottlefed a mixture of expressed milk and formula and after about a week he finally got it!
has been b/f ever since!

with no help from anyone I might add!

[Pruni]

Message withdrawn

[chatee]

where to hire a decent pump to express with, if/should the need arise......sorrry so short it's bath time!

[eidsvold]

that it takes a while to get the hang of it... I think I was finally feeding 'properly' at about 6 weeks. Dd2 was mixed fed but now is solely breastfed....

SOmetimes babies will need to be formula fed..... and that the mother is NOT a failure if that happens. Dd1 was ng tube fed for the first eight or so weeks of her life. I was expressing what I could but was unable to keep up with her and so she went onto formula..... Did not regret that I could not breastfeed her.... whatever was best for that situation.

With dd2 took ages for my milk to come in properly and for me to get the hang of it..... as I said above - about six weeks...... She was fed with both formula and breastmilk and probably has only been solely breastfed for about the last four weeks - she is almost 17 weeks old. Given my situation those bottles were a godsend and a necessity.... does not make me a bad mother or a failure.....

Seek out a supportive breastfeeder - eg - my sil has two girls same age as my two and she has been a great source of information and help.... and supportive when others were telling me to forget breastfeeding altogether and just to put dd2 onto the bottle. Her support has been invaluable... one mum to another...

hope that helps.