How much did you find out about breastfeeding befrore you gave birth?

[mears]

As an addition to Hunker's thread about breastfeeding support in hospital, I wondered how many of you did any preparation for breastfeeding.

By that I mean further reading, attended workshops etc.

I think a lot of women don't understand how it all works before getting started and just wondered it that was the experience of mums on here.

I did some reading and the ante-natal classes I attended had a workshop on it. Neither of these sources, however, mentioned possible difficulties and when I actually came to try to breastfeed I couldn't get him to latch at all.
I was "led to believe" that it just happened naturally and instantly and the only problems you could get would be from a poor latch. What about no latch, ever?

I went to the workshop at King's Hospital which was quite useful and where they also show you the hilarious film of Swedish women skiing downhill before removing their rainbow sweaters to breastfeed sturdy toddlers, all with a fantastic porn-film-accented voiceover telling you to 'go topless as much as possible' (I lived in a first-floor flat and my baby was due in February, so felt this was perhaps not the most actually constructive advice I could have received).

Best support I have to say was fabbo midwives after I'd had the baby. And fortunately once I'd got the whole thing right it just repeated itself with DD2.

nhs antenatal classes. had no idea anything else would be needed [twerp]

winestain, I think you've hit the nail on the head there - we are all told its instinctive and natural - so when it doesn't work well we feel like failures, and the extra stress of being incompetent and a crap mother from the off makes it nigh on impossible! The professionals never, ever tell you that its bloody hard, you'll cry for the entire day 3 of baby's life because your milks come in and its hideous and it hurts like hell regardless!!

IME!!

er, sorry, winestein

loads and loads. i read some books in the library (especially several by sheila kitzinger), read loads on online forums (especially on here, thanks tiktok!), read kellymom, and bought 'bestfeeding' as recommended by my midwife. i'm the sort of person that has to read a lot about a thing before i do it. i despair of mums who did no research when it's something so important. lots of women seem to rely on being told stuff, not going out and finding out for themselves. info is out there people either can;t be naffed to find it, or they don;t know how to find it.

foxy - the lactation consultant came to visit me at home, and she spent around an hour asking me loads of questions about my problems with BF, my labour and delivery. She then observed a feed, to check his latch and positioning ... she showed me some different feed positions (DS has awful reflux)to try and help - DS was SLOW feeder and a comfort feeder which i wanted to try and improve (charged £60 per hour) - no follow after this home visit, nothing - felt like a bit of a waste TBH but maybe i wasn't lucky with the person i chose

Not a lot. Some reading. had a fairly lazy dazy attitude to bfintg- if it works fine, if it doens't then fine as well BUT as soon as dd was placed in my arms I became a woman possessed and determined that no formula would pass her lips. I had virtually no support in hospital, had bleeding and cracked nipples. Came home and had mastitis. Then my fabby midwife refused to sign me off until I had promised to visit the local breastfeeding group. That changed everything. Even though I got mastitis again (due to a seam on a bra) I fed dd until she was 2 years and 10 months. (Initially I was stopping when she was 5 months and I went back to work but the group gave me the confidence and determination to carry on

Not a lot, but there wasnt anything readily available, only my nan, she didnt understand the 'new fangle bottles malarky.' I knew I wanted to bf and vaguely knew what was involved so I got on with it, luckily my dcs were easy to feed and we didnt have any trouble, apart from the initial sore nips

Message withdrawn

"i despair of mums who did no research when it's something so important." But unless you realise (ie are told by somebody) that it is not the most natural thing in the world and that it's bloody hard then you have no reason to think you need to do so.

No I didn't do my research beforehand into breastfeeding. But that isn't indicative of me not being inclined to research something important. I read and read and read about pregnancy and birth, and I think that research probably enabled me to end up with a natural birth (against all the odds at the time I might add). If I had realised how hard breastfeeding would be, believe me I would have researched that as well (mental energy permitting after birth research overload).

virtually none, mw cancelled the bf workshop and told me she had a video I could borrow if I wanted to (WTF!).

I bf ds1 until about 9mo (mixed from 6mo with going back to work) and am currently bf ds2 at 14mo.

I realised quite quickly after reading a few messages on a breastfeeding support group that breastfeeding was hard and could go wrong in lots of tricky ways, so I read up everything I could possibly find: books, websites, scientific papers.... I got negative information from the NHS antenatal class, and I think it would be very unwise to rely on that as your only source of information. The hospital did print a very good little booklet, though.

The study helped enormously once ds was born, since I had very little help from anyone else and if I hadn't known what to do it would have all gone to pieces several times over. I think the 'natural' myth is very damaging in this respect, since I've heard from a lot of mothers who expected breastfeeding to be easy and were caught out by the difficulties of the early weeks.

no preparation at all. in fact, I knew so little about the subject, that I cant even remember why I was so keen to breastfeed.

Nothing.

I went to ante-natal classes and read pregnancy books etc. for baby 1 but tbh I can remember naff all of use from the kclasses - I don't think I was at all prepared for when the baby was actually born and just played things by ear - but that is sort off how I function generally!

I have been breastfeeding non-stop for 32 months so it has been going ok (on baby no.2 now) but it has been biology, laziness (did NOT want to be arsed with bottles and teats and all the acoutrements assoc. with ff) luck and obstinancy and a supportive hubby - rather than research that got me through. DD is now nearly 1 and she is very hungry bf'er still I will introduce cows milk soon and reduce feeds very gradually.

I knew that my older sisters and mum bf'ed but I assumed when I had my son that I would feed for 6 months then wean and introduce formula - but my son soon taught me that he wasn't interested in my timetable and I ripped up the parenting books and listened to my instinct. I don't think it would have made any difference if I had done a doctoral thesis on breastfeeding bfore I had children I was clueless and it was only when I was actually holding my new baby that I began to learn how to be a parent - and found out that I was actually going to be a sahm, ext breast feeder, co-sleeper rather than all the rather unrealistic notions of parenting i had prior to 'delivery'.

I did a few NCT classes but no-one mentioned it could hurt so much. I think they should be more realistic about that - I'm sure it puts a lot of people off - it nearly did me and I was pretty determined in difficult circumstances.

and by unrealistic - I mean unrealistic for me - I did not know what was going to work for me until I had mybabies and I am still learning - and I am learning that everyone needs to find what works in there own family - aside from the the obvious fulfillingthe childs needs and loving theem etc. there are loads of different approaches and everyone finds their own groove...

Peaches - I think that is the absolute key thing. So so many people on here say that the message they got is that it hurts, it's wrong. That is not true and I am convinced it is a huge reason for women not perservering for as long as they might otherwise.

Oh God if it hurts, it's wrong. Sorry for my appalling typing tonight!

sweet FA Frankly

the MW at hospital forgot to book me antenatal classes and NCT were full by time i found out soi paid for (and regretted it immediately i participated and saw what a pile a pap it was) Active Birth Classes and they glossed over everything in a macrobiotic haze frothing on about burying the placenta and being centered

but ironically had emergency c - so expensive classes usweless

so what a shock to get mastitis - eeeughgh
Huge-sore hooters the size of footballs
then struggle with BF and conflicting advice from HV and MW

I had Health visitors lining up to tell me how much it would hurt one I remember well said that because I had red hair it would hurt and I was more likely to bleed etc. - she also likened me to a cow as my son was putting on a pound a week as a newborn - I really liked her

yes they should warn you it can hurt but not with obvious sadistic glee!!!

a couple of books...