How much does your DH/DP know about breastfeeding?

[BollocksToThis]

Something that happened recently made me realise how little DP knows about the technicalities and physiology of breastfeeding. On the whole until an incident the other week [prompted by his mother, natch] he's been very supportive but it's been viewed as entirely "my department".

How much does your significant other understand, and do you think it has an impact on how supportive they are?

He knows loads, although he didn't always do so. But even when he didn't know much, he was generally supportive of the direction I went in, and is particularly good at nipping to the kitchen to get me a glass of water / cup of tea as soon as I start a feed (and, after two and a half years of it with two DDs, that's a lot of cups of tea!). He read the Politics of Breastfeeding a few months ago and now has joined me on my boycott-athon of Nestle, Danone etc. I'm proud of him, and pleased that women who come to his surgery in the future (he's a GP) should be given sensible, accurate information about feeding. To a degree he's followed my lead, but he's branched out a bit on his own now. V v proud of him.

My DH doesn't know much yet (6 months pregnant) but he is totally behind me BF and is starting to learn more and more (mostly second hand from me!). He was formula fed and had horrific painful eczema as a child... in fact still had it as an adult until he met me and we took dairy out of his diet - an instant cure.

His best friend at the weekend told me that he was formula fed (his mother told him that it 'was fashionable' when she had him and that is why she did it!) and that there was nothing wrong with it, there was no difference etc. and DH argued with him about it.

FrozenNorthPole - Good on your DH. I'd forgot DH supports the Nestle ban even though it meant no Buxton water for him (the only bottled water he likes) AND he listened to me eulogise bang on rant talk him through the finer points of POBF

DH is very supportive but is not at all interested in the details - I didn't have any major problems though so have just got on with it.

Made me laugh today when we changed our plans and decided to stay in town for longer - I said oh but I didn't bring any lunch for DD (just getting established with solids) and he said "that's what your tits are for"! Charming!

at your DH, PassionKiss

Knows very little of the theory but highly supportive of enabling me to do it - I didn't cook an evening meal for the first 6ms of dd1's life so I could feed her at teatime.

By the second 2 kids he still wasn't interested in the theory, but highly interested in the fact it meant he could do naff all in the night but give a supportive grunt and then roll over and go back to sleep.

I think he did wonder when I would stop bfing ds once he went over 2yo.

Oh, and the most daddy obsessed of all ours is the one who never, ever had a bottle!

Pretty good. he didn't come to the 'training session' at ante-natal cause he thought he wouldn't be welcome, but he listens, is receptive and has done his research. He's really supportive and proud that it is going well, but would be equally supportive if I had to stop.