what do you REALLY want to know about breastfeeding?

[LizaJ]

I had an absolute nightmare breastfeeding for the first 8 weeks and got really fed up with the fact that my experience was so different from the one portrayed in a lot of the 'official' information from the NHS etc. Being a nerdy scientist by trade (and therefore having free access to medical journals), I started to look into what the actual, clinical research says about breastfeeding, and was amazed by some of the inaccuracies that are out there.

I have been sharing the info in a blog, but so far I've only really written about the things that have affected me. I was wondering what breastfeeding topics other ladies would like to know 'The Truth' about..?

Glad you have come back and given links to your blog again, Liza, as it's great. Of course my particular interest it the dreaded thrush, which I have learned about from MN and kellymom rather than the health professionals. As often reported on MN, many GPs have either not heard of it/don't 'believe' in it/are very unsure about treatments.

I would like to know, if you are mixed feeding, is it better to save milk and give a whole feed of EBM one day or are the benefits just the same if you give say 50ml breast 50mls formula on two seperate feeds?

Also to agree with many others about latch and pain. I think my pain over the first several weeks was caused mainly by thrush. I was convinced it was latch (because I was repeatedly told it would not hurt if latch was right) and kept trying to relatch the poor baby and make her open her mouth more.

I had awful pain at first and and kept being told it was normal. It wasn't - within a few days my nipples were bleeding and shredded, so something wasn't right somewhere. I wish I had been told "if it hurts, it means there may be a problem" - I would have been much more careful with the latch then, would have contacted a bfc sooner and possibly would not have had such a terrible early breastfeeding experience.

"within a few days my nipples were bleeding and shredded, so something wasn't right somewhere"

Obviously I couldn't comment on whether it was normal for you or not but that was pretty standard for me to varying degrees with each baby and it wasn't due to something being wrong.

Thrush seems to be a really big issue - still amazed that GPs don't know about it! Link with antibiotics is a good point Upwind. Not sure how formula interacts with EBM firstontheway - interesting question.

Don't think feeding in small intervals is a problem (well, for your baby) ilovemydogandMrObama. I think it boils down to: if your baby is healthy and gaining weight then you should carry on doing what works for the two of you.

Hadn't thought about the interaction of hormones and bf, i.e. pregnancy and night sweats.

MarmacitaGordita and others have already heard me going on about this at length, but obviously I'm with the 'honesty is the best policy' crowd on nipple pain. Although it isn't inevitable, it's good to know it's not unusual if it happens to you.

LeninGrad the pregnancy thing does seem to be an issue - quite a few people have mentioned it. I really hope the pain goes when you've given birth as it did for Grendle.

I would just like someone to have told me at some point before the birth that breastfeeding is a skill that both you and baby need to learn/ develop, and it probably won't happen perfectly and automatically the first time you feed (as those NHS leaflets with the perfect nipple and open-mouthed baby imply it will!). In fact, it may take days/ weeks for the two of you to find the latch/ hold/ technique that works best for you.

I'd also like some information on the concept of the 'top-up feed', be it formula or EBM, and whether there is actually any place for them in a baby who appears to have a good latch and is transferring milk well, but losing weight/ gaining slowly.

I'd like to know if it's true that bf babies tend to be 'better eaters' because they are used to a wide variety of different tastes in their milk, whereas formula is always the same.

I have spouted this smugly to all and sundry as DD is a 'good eater' and was exclusively bf, so I would like to know if I'm spreading myths or not.

I would also like to know the spread of bf across the country and if it matches up with socio-economic data. I live in the S Wales valleys, and have previously posted that I am aware that bf is unusual, but I was talking to an HV I know who said that in her area she had a caseload of 300 women, NONE of whom were bfing. I find this incredibly sad, this area is about the worst in the country for long term health outcomes and bf could at least give people the very best start. (I should add that all the HCPs I met during my time were very pro-BF.)

angelene I might be able to help on that one if I can find the email

Any bfcs around who can discuss the comment from juuule? I have always been told by bfcs that this degree of pain is not normal and means there is a problem (apart from the midwives in hospital where I had my dd)!

Is it really a normal, unavoidable side affect of breastfeeding for some people - to actually have bleeding, shredded nipples?

effect

it was for me goingnowhere
4 babies each time they bled to start then cleared up. Only time it didnt get better after a bit was this time as I then got thrush (yes it bloody exists)so baby was latching wrong. I know he was though.

In fact I sat nodding reading Juules posts

I would like to have be prepared for the unbelievable pain from breastfeeding. Instead of stupid MW telling me it was basically my fault (its probably because your nipples are a bit flat, did you know they are?) wtf??
I was crying through every feed, ds vomiting blood from my nipples and I gave up.

I will try again with this baby, but I dont know how to stop the same thing from happening or where to get better support

I wish I had known about cluster feeding in the first few days before I ever did it. It was such a SHOCK to find myself up all night after a C-section, having to ring MWs to help me lift the baby, every 30 minutes, all night and all the next day.

I was exhausted and deranged and in pain and I had not expected it to be like that.

I was forewarned with my next 2 babies but that didn't stop the long queue of MWs, cleaners, food auxiliaries, and bloke off the street (it seemed) saying 'if you need a rest, why don't we give him a little bottle?'

It is no wonder so many people give up so quickly when this happens and people don't know this is often NORMAL. They need the right support, the right people to just walk the baby up and down for an hour between squawks so you can at least get some sleep, and someone to just pat you on the back and go, yup, it's hard, you're doing so well, let me get you a cup of tea, can I prop your pillows for you, is it hurting, here let me see if we can help you with that feeding position, how about some lansinoh to ease those nipples. Nope, no need for panic, resignation or despair - it will settle down in a couple of days'.

And that if the same cluster feeding happens again in a week, or two, or four or 12 months, it should not be a cue for other people to go 'oooh no, you obviously don't have enough milk, you'd better top them up...'

Can you tell I've got a bee in my bonnet about this one?

mosschops, how I dealt with it was to feed only from the least affected side for a couple of feeds. Something I did find remarkable was the speed at which nipples can heal as long as they don't go too far. So I would only feed from the worse side long enough to reduce the breast fullness. Eventually you can go longer. It can be a bit of a juggling act to keep a balance between which side is looking like breaking down the most.
I also wore breast shields when they got too bad to prevent my bra from sticking. Also found that using kamillosan or smear of vaseline to keep from drying out worked.

"It is no wonder so many people give up so quickly when this happens and people don't know this is often NORMAL. They need the right support, the right people to just walk the baby up and down for an hour between squawks so you can at least get some sleep, and someone to just pat you on the back and go, yup, it's hard, you're doing so well, let me get you a cup of tea, can I prop your pillows for you, is it hurting, here let me see if we can help you with that feeding position, how about some lansinoh to ease those nipples. Nope, no need for panic, resignation or despair - it will settle down in a couple of days'."

Amen!

completely agree LL.

Still can't believe the type of nipple damage I experienced could have just been bad luck and normal. I always thought (and was told afterwards) that it meant there was something wrong, and the midwives in the hospital should not have said it was normal.

Very confused!

If it is part of the normal course of breastfeeding for many people (and not just a symptom of poor latch or thrush or tongue tie) then of course people should be told - whether that will mean more people just won't start breastfeeding at all though in fear of shredded nipples I'm not sure!

I think the issue is often that MW in the hospital just don't know enough about what is supposed to happen, or they don't have enough time to work through it with you. I had much better advice from BF counsellors in person or on the phone, or a MW specialist at a rop-in BF clinic than I ever got on the ward. And that's the awful bit - that's where for most women the end of their BF starts.

I still had shredded nipples with all 3 though. I still don't think of this as normal, because it stopped hurting with lots of fiddling and adjusting. Eventually. But also agree with whoever said thrush might be more common than people realise: I'm sure now I had it, undiagnosed with DS1 but didn't realise.

to echo firstontheway, almost the same question...
I've read that, if you mix-feed, to be careful how much formula you give, as too much will negate the benefits of breastfeeding, reduced allergies etc...
I just wonder how much is too much? 50%? 20%?

angelene, Nigella Lawson quotes a French pediatrician in her book "How to Eat", saying breastfed babies turn out to be better eaters.

... for exactly the reason you say, that breastmilk has different flavours depending on what the mother eats, while formula always has the same taste.

Difficult to check this though I think, how can you survey toddlers just beginning to eat!