How much breastmilk is "beneficial"

[badjaw]

My baby is 5 weeks old and I have been mixed feeding (mainly formula) but I'm only now expressing enough to get 4 ounces, if I am not too tired to that is! So baby is getting a 4-5 oz bottle every couple of days.
It's hard expressing, my nipples are cracked and bleeding and I can't keep up basically.

I basically want to know if I'm putting myself through this for the baby not to really be seeing any of the benefits of breastmilk as they aren't getting much of it...

Does anyone know ?

I'm a big fan of breastfeeding but I wouldn't be putting myself through expressing (is there a reason you aren't feeding directly?) if it was causing pain and bleeding.

Don't do it because you think it will massively benefit your baby, they will be absolutely fine on formula. However, if you really want to breastfeed, I'd say that feeding directly is easier than expressing.

Baby was getting nipple confusion and it was stressing her out having to work harder on the boob rather than it just flowing out like it does with a bottle, my nipples were black too lol. I'm just wondering if it's worth doing ? I'm very anxious and want her to be protected from the benefits of breastmilk but it's such hard work for such a little amount and my nipple is so sore, it heals and then rips open again

I was told by my health visitor feeding team that any amount of breast milk is beneficial. However when I looked into the data it seems there is pretty much no difference in health outcome between BF and FF in developed countries where everyone has access to clean water and sterilisation equipment.

I would do what works best for you and makes you happy/least stressed so you can focus on enjoying your baby. For me I stopped expressing and breastfeeding at 10w as my DD no longer had the inclination to feed directly and I hated pumping and the time it took (would much rather be using the time to cuddle my baby). I would have stopped earlier if it was causing pain. If I had just been able to breastfeed directly without my baby being hungry after I might have continued but we had a lot of early problems and I never got my supply up.

So WHO recommend upto 2 years of breastfeeding, and in not sure where I've heard this, but they recommend mother's to feed atleast 6 month.
I have breastfed my kids for a long time and I can tell you I could've never managed with expressing milk. It's really difficult and hardly much came out my baby would actually suck way more than what I could express.
If you want to breastfeed directly, pleaseee get in touch with a breastfeeding consultant, or breastfeeding clinic they will support and guide you well.

I really can’t see the point in that.

I BF for 26 months, no expressing or formula and I think that was beneficial. But if I’d found it that hard I’d not have bothered faffing.

I think I just needed to hear someone say you don't have to do it... I feel guilty but I've done it for nearly 6 weeks and that in itself is an achievement I think?

I've put alot of pressure on myself I think as I just want what's best for my baby but it's really hard on me, even my hands are hurting from using a hand pump aswell as an electric one. I thought I was getting arthritis until I realised it must be the pumping lol

Op, six weeks is an amazing achievement, especially if you've got black nipples (ouch!!)

You've given your baby an incredible start (colostrum!) and no one would judge you for moving on to full time formula. X

I am breastfeeding my 8 week old but if it were causing me pain and discomfort then I would personally stop. It’s absolutely fine to stop, OP. You have done brilliantly and given your baby the best start.

I EBF both of mine but there's no way I would have put myself through that. I'm not convinced the benefits are worth it tbh. You absolutely can stop whenever you want to

any amount is beneficial. You’ve already given your wee babe a great start.
i’ve got 3 kids. Had a variation of breast for only 3 days then formula, breast then formula then relactating to combi feed then the third one I drove myself mad continuing to EBF then pump
to combi feed before realising she has allergies.

Each time when I stopped the only thing they bothered me was my guilt over my decision. Each time, with time, I realised it didn’t matter!

OP your health and comfort matters too. Make the decision to stop if you want to and try not to feel guilt, it’s such a waste of emotion! Sending unmumsnetty hugs!

It's funny.. I breastfed both of my babies for 18 months and it felt ever so important at the time.

Now they're up a bit?

Cool, I breastfed. Littlest one is currently shoving a biscuit into her.

It's just one of those things that's easy to get maniacal about.

Being a good mum is a lot more about the bigger picture than just shoving a boob in a mouth.

I'm sure you're great

Bf is beneficial for as long as you can manage, but babies also benefit from having happy mothers who aren't having to deal with additional stress. So if it's causing you distress then perhaps it's not a good idea for either you or your baby, but if you want to continue then I agree with others, ring a breastfeeding counsellor or better still see one in person.

6 weeks is amazing! Any breast milk is amazing. Just do what you can do. Make the choice for you and your baby. Noone else opinion matters.

Weigh up the personal cost to your happiness vs the teeny benefit of a little bit of breastmilk then decide. Baby will have got some benefit antibodies etc already. In your case if I wasn't enjoying it and it was hurting and making me unhappy I'd just ff. And that's coming from a very pro breastfeeding pov. If its making you unhappy, stop. Formula is absolutely fine and nothing to feel guilty about. GL.

Thank you so much ladies, it's helped hearing it off real women, I just have this devil on my shoulder all the time giving me anxiety! I feel proud I've managed to give her some of my milk, I couldn't breastfeed with my ds as he struggled to latch and I was young, I never persevered with it, so I should give myself a pat on the back this time shouldnt I

I'm not sure how accurate this is but I'm sure I've read that the main benefits are from using exclusively breastmilk e.g. any amount of formula reduces the benefits. Well done for your pumping, it really is brutal. If I were you, I'd move onto full time formula.

You've done amazingly expressing for this long but don't make yourself miserable doing it, it's not worth it! I absolutely hated pumping, there's no way I could have done it long term.

Well done for what you have done. But - really, don't worry about it. A happy mother is the most important thing. The benefits are generally massively oversold as they fail to strip out correlation and causation. Look up Emily Oster, who has a great summary of the actual data.

I was in a similar situation, by 6 weeks I was getting maybe 3 oz a day and was so fed up with expressing (that was without pain, bleeding etc). I asked my HV if it was worth it, she didn't actually say no out loud but I could tell the answer was no. No regrets from me and my 1 year old is thriving.

I could have written your post 3 years ago OP. I tried so hard and was miserable-and hated it! I rang all the helplines and lactation clinics and they all said to keep going and gave me hints and tips.

Then a lovely HV came round and saw the state I was in and asked me if I wanted to continue and I really didn't have to if I didn't want to. I burst into tears. It was the first time anyone had asked me what I wanted to do rather than impressing upon me how important it was to keep up my supply

Hearing from someone in a 'medical' role (I know they're not technically) made me breathe easier. I decided to move to formula and it was like an enormous weight had lifted

I spent so long worrying if I was harming my baby by stopping, I didn't stop to think that the stress and upset I was causing myself was doing the most amount of harm! He was a different baby when I stopped and so calm. And I think this was entirely due to the state I got myself in about it all

You've done amazingly. Do what feels right and it won't be the wrong decision

Honestly?

I breastfed and found it astonishingly easy. But I wouldn't have done if it was painful. Your comfort is as important as your baby's comfort, and the so-called benefits of breastfeeding do not outweigh the benefits of not breastfeeding to your mental and physical health.

Stop, and know that your baby will never ever feel anything bad towards you about it. She loves you regardless, and this is such a neutral act for you to take.

Some years ago for me now but I know I was told by a professional that 60% of the benefit from breastfeeding was from the colostrum and that once you’ve introduced even one top up formula feed the flora in the digestive tract has been changed forever so it’s pretty pointless to continue after that for perceived physical ‘health benefits’ for the baby. I wonder if that’s true

(I only say 'so-called' as the studies don't in my opinion show a big enough impact for women to be taking hits to their mental health to be breastfeeding).