Another article about how awful breastfeeding is, this time in a feminist publication

[Caligula]

I thought some of you would like to read this.

This misinformation bugged me:

"Times change though, and the formulas on the market are hopefully as close to what comes out of your boob, as they will ever be".

Wonder what the rest of you think

the new breastfeeding taboo

The problem is, when I went to the Parentcraft ante-natal classes and we were discussing BF I was told by the midwife that ALL women can and should BF. That is not true as there are many cases (mine for example) where BF is not a possibility

Spot on, Caligula.

Women used to stay in hospital longer, too, although I'm not sure this would help establish bf unless the hospital staffed bf counsellors.

LOL!

They haven't even got enough midwives.

Well I would always want to encourage breastfeeding and ds has just weaned off the breast (easily and with no trauma though with a bit of encouragement from me) at the age of 2.

Howver though I accept that this is not normal - my experience of breastfeeding is one that I most certainly did not enjoy. I found it painful for every almost every feed for the whole two years (though obviously after the first few weeks the pain was no longer absolutely excruciating)

The pain was present throught all feeds with some being worse than others.

Breastfeeding went from almost unbearable for me in the forst couple of months to just tolerable for the following 18 months.

I have a lot of sympathy with this woman as she is giving only her experience. My expeience is also an unusual one but it is nonetheless a valid one.

I was very lucky in that ds had no problems with breastfeeding per se, did not refuse the breast and generally fed well and regularly with almost no cluster feeding.

Had I had any of those issues to contend with as well as my personal dislike of the process I have no doubt that ds would have been formula fed.

In fact I found breastfeeding so difficult that if I were to have another child I would consider formula feeding (though I know I probably wouldn't do it as I'd feel the new baby was getting a worse deal than ds).

If the decision were were only based on what I want and my preferences though I'd formula feed in a second.

FWIW,DD2 was improperly latched following devliery.

I had three big blood blisters on my left boob by that evening. Even a midwife remarked that the 'looked sore'.

An NCT counsellor helped me sort it out, by spending an entire night at my home.

EVERY single feed she helped me get baby on properly.

And she was right, it didn't hurt after the first 10-15 seconds. I did have a painful letdown reflex for the first week or so, but the nipple didn't hurt.

If it did, she showed me how to take the baby off and start again.

i was recently asked to give a "real" perspective of bf-ing to an ante-natal class of 1st time mums.

it may not be a bed of roses to begin with.
you may get thrush/mastitis/unhappy baby/split nipples. if you choose to grit your teeth and get through it it will be worth it.

no-one i have ever met thinks that giving birth is a barrel of laughs. horrific things can and do happen. but people still do it. because the end result is worth it.

on the other hand, just as you may have the "perfect" labour, you may have the "perfect" bf experience.

everyone is different.no-one can say to you "this will/won't happen."

bf killed my nipples for the first few weeks.they split, cracked and bled.

dd is 8 months and we are still going strong. i love it.

shame she got wrong info on expressing & when bmilk starts after colostrum. Antibiotics could have caused thrush which would explain her experience with soreness & unhappy bf for the baby as well.

Need correct info to spot problems in bf & to put them right. This didn't happen here.

yes but no-one tells you labour is going to be wonderful and natural -they tell you itll hurt like a b*h

thats the difference

Absolutely agree about the lack of "lying in" being a huge impediment.

So many early problems of bf are solved by just taking the baby to bed and feeding for a couple of days. Presumably that's what happened in the past, and many problems would have been sorted out quickly without a need for BFC helplines etc.

Nowadays you need a fairly unusual level of support to be able to go to bed and feed.

but you still do it though kitty. that's my point.

Especially if you have other children at home and your spouse has to go back to work asap.

you have no choice to go through labour

you have a choice to breastfedd

i dont see your point

you choose to get pregnant/have the baby though.you don't have to.

so your saying if you chose to get pregnant then you should breast feed

and if you are going to FFthen dont bother having kids??

sorry if thats nit what you mean - im just not following

I think it's more that both involve a short term pain for a long term benefit. Labour is painful, but then you have your baby. Establishing bf may hurt at first, but it stops hurting and becomes enjoyable.

If you have been through a very difficult experience with breastfeeding, and most others you know who have tried it also found it a difficult and unenjoyable experience, then you might find it hard to imagine that some people actually enjoy it.

I don't think she is deliberately plotting to put people off bf - think she is just having a rant because of her experience.

The misinformation in her article is interesting - either she got very poor advice from health professionals or she misunderstood what was said to her.

thats very simplistic though becky

i tird BFing both times and couldnt hack it - im no wimp, i had both my kids (first 9lbs) with no pain relief whatsoever,

but i was just exhausted

and if i ever had another baby (please god - no lol) then i would try againbecause i know its best

but i wouldnt continue if i felt the same as the last two times, sore depressed, ect

Hey - it's not my analogy!

no not at all kitty! you should do what is best for you ff or bf.

you choose to have children. getting them out is not fun. but you still make the choice to do it. because the end result will be worth it.

IF you choose to bf, that may not be fun either. but IF you do choose to do it, the end result will also be worth it.

am confusing myself now....

What was all the rubbish about not being allowed to express? My DS1 was in SCBU and I was expressing for him from day 1.

spot on becky btw

FWIW I think the whole experience of becoming a parent can be just the beginning of feeling guilty about something all the time - I know I feel guilty about loads of things because other mothers do things better/more impressively than me.
It does feel awful when the implication about any choice is that if you really loved your child you would do it. But of course some people really can't bf and that's that - I think it's incredibly emotive and a minefield of potential offence. But however paintul it is true that we have to encourage people to persist if they can - there's no way for outsiders to distinguish between those who can't bf and those who might if they persisted - inevitably that must feel hurtful to those who can't bf.

Did anyone see this amazing article about wet nurses? It shows another side to the history of nonbfeeding.

www.guardian.co.uk/g2/story/0,,1983285,00.html

(I can't make that link thing work)

I think I must be unique, I very rarely feel guilt about anything. Maybe I'm a psychopath.

Me neither Caligula. And I'm a catholic

Message withdrawn

LOL, I was brought up a catholic.

It didn't work, did it