Advice for not wanting to breastfeed straight after the birth

[YellowYellowYellow]

DC3 is due later this year and I'm 100% certain that I don't want to even bother attempting to breastfeed.

DC1 couldn't latch properly for love nor money and as a result, he lost a fair bit of wait in the first two weeks after his birth, leading me to pump my milk. I expressed for close to three months but didn't enjoy it whatsoever. I felt like a cow hooked up to a milking machine as I quite literally did nothing other than sit expressing for hours upon hours, meaning I never really got to bond with or hold my DC and honestly, it just wasn't worth the effort.

With DC2, I'd said to DH that I didn't want to try breastfeeding again following on from what happened with DC1. However, when we were taken round to recovery, the midwife was borderline insisting that I put baby on my breast to try and establish feeding. I told her that I wanted to bottle feed, and she kept pushing it, so in my tired state, I gave in. DC2 did latch well initially, but after about a week, I could no longer cope. Both my nipples were scabbed to high heaven and DC2 wanted to cluster feed from pretty much 10pm to 5am and with a one year old in tow, it was damaging my mental state. I reached for the pump, only to see that 90% of what was coming out was blood. It was horrific and after 2 weeks I gave it up.

This time I'm adamant I'm not putting myself through it and want to formula feed from the get go, but how do I make that clear to the midwives in the hospital who are always SO dead set on getting me to try breastfeeding. I've been there, tried it twice, it isn't for me.

I'm worried I'm going to end up giving in and going along with what they say, when I really don't want to!

The last thing a Mum needs after giving birth is feeling pressure. I breastfed my C1 and also intended to bf C2 and was nearly put off because of the mw after my c-section. She had no sympathy that I was fasting since previous night and my elective c-section, that should have been at 8am, was delayed because of the emergency ones and was 5pm when I finally went to recovery. I was feeling so dizzy and tired and asked for a bottle but the Mw wouldn't give me and pushed me to bf. I felt so sick and ended up throwing up the toast that they gave me afterwards. I just wanted to cry. The first moments with our newborn should be lovely and relaxed memories not horrible.

I also formula fed from birth. I wrote it in my birth plan and took in the ready made bottles. Not one person questioned it or tried to change my mind. My husband gave our little boy his first bottle while I was getting stitched up! He would have been very firm if anyone had questioned my/our choice.

What @norminecornelia said. They are incentivised to 'push' breastfeeding (based on the evidence) but you have every right to make your own choices. Keep saying no, as people have said, get your husband involved and I'd definitely talk to your c-section midwife for extra support (although appreciate it is her job to make sure you definitely don't want to try). She should listen and be supportive once you have made your views and wants clear though.

Just say no thanks, I'm going with formula.

That's it!

I never had this. Nothing was said to me after delivery and bottles were brought to me as formula feeding was in my notes (although I had come prepared and brought my own- the midwife insisted we save them for back at home).

Literally the only thing I had written on my birth plan with dd2 and 3 Was "I am bottle feeding"
They still wrote "Breast feeding" on my discharge notes though

I presumed with my first that I would be pushed to BF but I really wasn’t. After birth are you BF or FF, FF and bottle given... it wasn’t questioned by any midwife.
I can stand my ground (in a profession where I really need to be able too), I’m due my 2nd later in the year and I’ll be FFing again and I firmly intend to stand my ground with it.

Our trust also says we need to bring bottles for FF as well, we just got a few packs of the cow and gate ones with the teats provided

Put it in your birth plan and be very clear with everyone.

You could buy some of these

https://www.chemist.co.uk/aptamil-first-infant-milk-starter-pack-1-from-birth.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwtnmBRD0ARIsAJYs6o16pXG3gAwUWs6LNzKCqfTNqgQakOxmI1-3yAz1pqGv592qEpfM2sAaAqSrEALww_wcB

Ready made bottles,already sterilised so you can feed baby straight away with no one pressuring you that baby needs feeding NOW.

Be prepared and firm.