not one person would listen to me
I think that's the main thing that sticks out time and time again about the early days of breastfeeding. @Kolakalia People often don't have the time to stop and really listen.
I feel like there are so many factors that affect your experience and ability, and in the UK we don't have the level of support you need to safely/positively establish breastfeeding unless you have the 'happy path' route. Ie. No tongue tie, milk comes in easily, the baby learns to latch quickly, etc.
I feel like our breastfeeding rates are so low that the overall knowledge is also very low. You find pockets of expertise (LLL and local breastfeeding groups for example), but I do feel like a lot of 1st time breastfeeding mums (who are probably commonly first-time mums too), need almost 1:1 support for feeding. I guess if you look back a generation or two that would've generally been your mum/grandma/aunt/sister etc. You do often need someone physically there to take away all the 'other' stuff but also to just sit with you and support you as problems arise feed by feed.
The reality is, particularly if you're in the hospital, you get a 30-second snippet of contradictory advice from a different person each time.
It's such a shame, cause there really is nothing wrong with feeding a baby formula or breastfeeding. But those seem to be the only options presented. Mixed/combi feeding works incredibly well for lots of people. But you're trying to logically figure out what's best for your particular situation whilst you're vulnerable, you're sleep deprived, you're hormonal, possibly in pain, learning several brand new skills...
My friend described breastfeeding as "The hardest natural thing she's ever done". That's how I describe it to people now.