It's neither the mother nor the baby's fault, opeaches :)
Women don't make babies - this miraculous things that our bodies do - that suddenly starve because they haven't been born with the instinct to breastfeed. The baby is literally part of the mother when he's inside her, and continued to be part of her when he's born - it's a dance, a partnership, a dyad.
Sadly though it's an incredible delicate dance. While humans are extremely flexible and able to cope with change which is why we're so succuessful as a species, labour, birth and breastfeeding relies of a complex set of hormones and physical ways of being that re interferred with in modern medicine. I watched a birthing programme last night where a labouring mum was told that the only risk of an epidural was that it may not take both sides. This is such a terrible lack of information. Epidurals lead to the mother not being able to move properly as her body is telling her - in fact she cannot hear her body at all. She's likely to labour on her back (the worst way possible) and is more likely to need an instrumental delivery or C-S. Even without this the baby is more likely to have had a harder time in delivery.
All these things potentially affect how the baby can latch. And this is just one single example. All labour drugs can affect feeding. A mal-presented baby can have a harder time after a harder labour. Instrumental birth for any reason can leave the baby in pain.
How a mother felt in labour can affect how her feeding goes - the hormones are so tightly woven with the physical aspects of breastfeeding.
Then there's social issues. Some mums understand newborn behaviour and how babies may be expected to be, especially when breastfed. Most don't as we've not experienced it. Some families are more accepting of BFing. Some give you the "are you feeding again?" Or "If I gave a bottle you could get some sleep/take the baby overnight/etc". Some women feel very uncomfortable about feeding in front of other people yet in those first days where the dance is most critical they are trying to also handle hoards of visitors.
And then there are those babies who are born with physical problems which make latching really hard such as tongue ties or cleft palate. Or babies with Downs Syndrome or other issues which make them very floppy, or hard to feed for other reasons. None of these things are the baby's fault, either :) But I know you didn't mean that.
What I think you're saying is that it's not the mum's fault and I wholeheartedly agree. But it's not the baby's fault, either :)
If anyone is to blame (and there is someone, generally, I believe) it's our healthcare system which does not explain the risks and benefits of apparent choices that we have (pain relief in labour, labouring location options, movement in labour), an obstetric culture which doesn't understand normal birth (failure to wait (technically known as failure to progress), early cord clamping (technically known as cord clamping - with what is physiologically normal still known as delayed CC), instrumental deliveries, vaginal examinations, artificial rupture of membranes, separation of mother and baby after birth, formula being given at birth.
It is also to blame for the terrible lack of proper support given to mothers postnatally - both in breastfeeding and general care - and because mothers continue to believe that midwives are trained to help in breastfeeding and unless they've done separate training, they're not. Same with Health Visitors.
Finally, our Government is to blame for allowing formula companies to advertise their product with the implication that it's a health product (follow on milks) and that it's an intrinsically safe product, implying that it's "as good as" breastmilk. And for bottle manufacturers to continue to use phrases such as "closer to nature" (my boobs don't look like that, frankly) and for not explaining that while formula is a life-giving product which we are very lucky to have access to, it should be access of last resort with national milk banking available to all and excellent, qualified and well followed-through breastfeeding support and information given to everyone.
AAAnd relax.
Right, I'm off to cook the turkey (CD is today for us).