Breastfeeding

[FarMack]

Hi all, I want to atleast try to breastfeed my baby once it comes along but there seems to be a lot of mums discussing their challenges with latching on, sore breasts etc. Has anyone tried the Miskin Method for breastfeeding? What are your experiences (good or bad)? Are there any other methods that have helped?

I think the biggest thing is to feel calm and relaxed. If you get stressed (especially in the very early days) it gets much trickier.

As far as I know, none of the women in my immediate family breastfed much, so I went into it in the spirit of, "oh well, I'lll give it a go but if it doesn't work I'm not going to beat myself up over it.." But in the event, I found it OK. Mainly, I think because the lovely nurses where I gave birth got us latched on in the delivery room and were on hand for the 1st few days to check everything was fine.

Also because my husband was very supportive, brought me glasses of water, made sure I was comfy etc. which meant I could stay relaxed.

Lanolin cream (there are a few different brands, I think I used an own brand, can't remember now) is your best friend for sore/cracked nipples (it really does help and you don't need to clean it off before putting the baby on).

With my first baby it took a day or 2 for my milk to come in and the hospital lent me a pump to help stimulate the flow. It worked really fast and also gave me the much-needed reassurance and confidence that my supply was fine. Maybe not useful advice for everyone, but I found this very helpful.

If there's known tongue tie in your family it's worth reading up about the signs and symptoms of this and pushing to get it assessed for ASAP if you have any of the associated problems, because it can run in families.

As you're aware of a possibility of CMPI that could also be something to try and rule out early if you have a baby who is unsettled around feeding.

Lansinoh yes is absolutely great. You don't have to wipe it off before a feed and you can use it liberally (but a little goes a long way). There are silver covers you can get for nipples which are supposed to be really healing too and some kind of flexible gel covers.

The main thing I think would be to learn about how BF works physiologically - Kellymom is very good for this and the MN board tends to have good advice too. And learn how to differentiate a good source from a bad one. Health visitors and GPs are not trained in breastfeeding support so may sometimes give out well-meaning but incorrect advice. Midwives are trained but their training is sometimes out of date and/or their personal opinion intervenes. The certification IBCLC is the top notch when it comes to up to date BF knowledge. NCT breastfeeding counsellors and La Leche League leaders also tend to have sound, up to date knowledge although be aware LLL is not only a breastfeeding support group, but a parenting ideology.

I hadn't heard of the Miskin Method before either, some of the stuff she's saying sounds OK, but I agree with PPs that a couple of the things she's touting as her wonder tips are really against how BF works and so it makes me suspicious that it's very much about marketing - very similar to Clare Byam Cook actually who also markets herself as a BF expert but really has some very misleading advice which could be harmful to BF.