Calling those who have stopped or been tempted to stop b/f before they wanted to...

[twinklemegan]

I have recently posted about this on another thread but I am now curious... has anyone out there given up/been tempted to give up breastfeeding because of the unrealistic way it is sometimes promoted?
eg b/f should be pain free and enjoyable;
any formula (even if desperate) inevitably leading to the end of b/f;
MWs not being allowed to recommend nipple shields even if woman is in excrutiating pain and scared of feeding;
assumptions that every woman has the support to be able to feed baby 24/7 if needed...
you get the idea.
Is it time to inject a bit of reality into the b/f literature and would this help some women to continue with at least some b/f??
Discuss!
PS I'm quite new on MN and I don't want to offend anyone - please be gentle with me!!

Just an update for those of you who might be interested. I have found out today that my 5 month old DS has tongue tie! Not one of the MWs, HVs, doctors or the NCT BFC has ever mentioned this to me before. I had wondered, but wrongly assumed that someone would have already checked for it. So I apologise to anyone I have accused of giving misleading information about the level of pain involved in b/f. I now know why I suffered so much pain and why DS had such difficulty in the early weeks. I only wish I had known before I gave up b/f. However, the HV also said nothing would have been done anyway which really shocked me. How could they leave a baby with a condition that means they have real difficulty with feeding naturally?!

Oh Twinkle love, I am so sorry to hear this. I am also shocked that this wasn't recognised sooner for you. Don't get yourself upset about it now. Your baby is fit and well and that is all that matters.

Diappointed that the NCT bfc did not ask about TT, twinkle....it should be ruled out in any case of persistent soreness or difficulty with staying on the breast, and looked for by anyone who has the opportunity to look for it.

However, if he definitely has tongue tie, it can be difficult to find someone to snip it, so your HV is right

OMG Kayzed, I'm so and for you. I wonder how common this is, for tongue tie not to be spotted I mean. I think it's definitely worth a new thread when things have settled down.

Like you, I was told that my latch was great. Unlike you, I was in a hell of a lot of pain. This is why I could never understand the "no pain with a good latch" thing. I also had the thing where he latched on and then did nothing - I was tearing my hair out! It did get better eventually and I've read that things can indeed improve as the baby grows. I'm just so at myself for not realising sooner - it's so plain to see. But as I said before, I assumed that someone would have mentioned it. If there's ever a next time I'm going to trust my instincts no matter what!

I'm going to get my regular HV to have a look when I see her next week and take it from there. I'm not happy just to wait until DS's 9 months check. Obviously the b/f thing is no longer an issue, but the more I think about it the more worried I am about any effect on his speech development. Did your HV say anything about that?