Do people not breastfeed anymore?

[lauren84 11]

I bottle fed my little one. I didn't intend to - i'd not bought any bottles but I'd been blinkered and just thought that I would put my baby to my breast and that would be it. I know for some women it is like that but he just didn't seem to be getting anything do after nearly a day I just got a bottle from down the ward.

 

I asked the support worker a few times but she just seemed like I was asking the earth. My milk came in on the Tuesday night not even a dribble by Wednesday morning.

 

Do I feel guilty - no. My little boy is beautiful, clever, healthy and is a joy to be around. I know of people who have breastfed, only to then feed their children lots of junk when they are finally eating solids.

 

If I had another baby I don't know whether I would try again or not. I will make that decision if he or she comes along. If your milk is flowing and you don't have any problems with sore nipples infections etc, then it is definitely the easier option, especially when it comes to getting out and about (if you put aside the feeding in public thing) and during night feeds. But it can be depressing if things don't work out. Bottles are a pain to clean and sort out - I actually did do four at a time and put them in the fridge (naughty I know but my husband was metaculous with the bottle cleaning) unless I was going out. My health visitor said this was fine tbh.

 

As for the midwife saying that.....what gives her the right to use mothers as a statistic? Isn't she there to help each mother through her pregnancy, not slag off their decisions?

[*Peaches* 10]

I breastfed all 3 of mine, but only managed for 4-6 weeks. The stress and negative looks/comments put me off but if ever I had more I'd do it again and stick 2 fingers up this time

[mrseggy 10]

This is more of an enquiry than anything else. I'm due in 3 weeks and the health visitor told me that people in my area (S5) don't breastfeed and she was genuinely shocked when I said I was going to (if I could).

 

I know there are lots of medical reasons why some women can't and that I'm sure is disappointing for them.

 

Everything I read seems to be positive:

 

- The benefits of health to your baby

- The benefits of weight loss and getting everything 'sucked' back into place for the mother'

- Bonding

- Far less hassle than making up a bottle every few hours.

- Natural and according to the government, less likely to cause cancer etc in later life.

 

I know it must be painful at first and probably makes your boobs look less fuller afterwards but can someone shed light on why a lot of women don't anymore?

 

 

 

I have/am breast feeding all my 3 children, my daughters til they were just turned 1 (when they self weaned) and i am still feeding my 21mth old son. I have LOVED every minute!! it hasnt all been plain sailing but the plus points have always been worth every minute.

 

Why ive found breast to be best

 

The weights loss, i was back in my pre pregnant jeans within a week of having all 3 of my babies (and im no stick!! im a 14 to 16) and ive always been able to eat what ever i want and not put a single pound on!!........do you actually need any more plus points

 

Less work!! no bottle to make, and no sterilizing (and no expense buying them either)

 

Less to remember on outings

 

Non of my children have ever had a tummy bug under the age of 12mths

 

Only i could feed them, now some may view this this is a negative!! however if your sat feeding your baby, you have your feet up!! you are resting and your not running round making cuppa's for guests!!

 

Holidays!! much much less bagage especially if you travel abroad!

 

No getting out of bed to feed, a must for any breast feeding my MASTER THE ART OF FEEDING laid down! and just snooze while little un helps them self

 

It's FREE!! honestly i almost dropped through the floor when i the price of a tin of formula its a disgrace!!

 

There are many many more!! but this is just off the top of my head.

 

Down side

 

I did get very very sore when i first had my second daughter, however this was very quickly sorted with the help of a breast feeding advisor.

 

Taking it easy on the booze even when not pregnant, although the current advice on this is some what mixed.

 

And thats it!! all i can say is that if you plan to breast feed you do need to be really committed it is rarely totally straight forwards, but there is lots of help and support out there if you need it! what i did when i felt like giving up was to always give it another couple of days, and things always seemed to workout fine.

 

But above all else it is what you are happy with! if you breast feed or not!! is neither here or there it is what you are happy with that is of upmost importance, tis cheesey but very very true that a happy mummy equals a happy baby..............well most of the time

[mrseggy 10]

I breastfed all 3 of mine, but only managed for 4-6 weeks. The stress and negative looks/comments put me off but if ever I had more I'd do it again and stick 2 fingers up this time

 

Gosh that sounds shocking!! i can honestly say i have never had any dirty looks and i have fed in lots of VERY puplic places, negative comment yes but only normally when the little un have been six months plus........i mean they cant possible still need it then can they?

[Swalk 10]

I live in S5, and I breastfed!!!

 

However, all through my pregnancy I did say that I only planned to do it for a month or 2!

Reasons:

I didn't want my child to be 'clingy' (I am aware that only 'some' babies do),

I wanted Daddy to have more involvement and;

I wanted to get back to enjoying myself too (i.e. nights out with my Husband)

I know some of you will be thinking 'selfish so and so' but a happy Mummy makes for a happy baby

 

Anyways, I did just that! I breastfed exclusively for 5 weeks then started to combine feed, then stopped totally at 8 weeks.

 

As far as Im concerned I gave my baby the best start in life and didnt put too much pressure on myself, although the HV did try to make me carry on, I did what was best for my family!

 

I must add that I think all Mummys should at least be open to trying, and I do understand what the health visitor was probably getting at, and thats that the majority of pregnant ladies are not willing to even think about it, they just say 'no'!

[lauren84 11]

I live in S5, and I breastfed!!!

 

However, all through my pregnancy I did say that I only planned to do it for a month or 2!

Reasons:

I didn't want my child to be 'clingy' (I am aware that only 'some' babies do),

I wanted Daddy to have more involvement and;

I wanted to get back to enjoying myself too (i.e. nights out with my Husband)

I know some of you will be thinking 'selfish so and so' but a happy Mummy makes for a happy baby

 

Anyways, I did just that! I breastfed exclusively for 5 weeks then started to combine feed, then stopped totally at 8 weeks.

 

As far as Im concerned I gave my baby the best start in life and didnt put too much pressure on myself, although the HV did try to make me carry on, I did what was best for my family!

 

I must add that I think all Mummys should at least be open to trying, and I do understand what the health visitor was probably getting at, and thats that the majority of pregnant ladies are not willing to even think about it, they just say 'no'!

 

I like your post

[chickywiggle 10]

for me:

 

pre-birth:

- reluctance as i did not want to have to "whip em out" in public.

HOWEVER i was PRESSURED INTO IT by a pushy midwife who I might add I have refused to have this time round.

 

post birth:

- ds refused to latch on - starved for 48 hours...... bottle was only way forward.

 

this time round (next baby due in 21 weeks) i will NOT be breastfeeding

- still no urge to "whip em out" in public

- bottles are convienient

- dh can help at night (ok i may still be dreaming on this one)

- it didn't do ds any harm

- i will be split between looking after ds1 and new baby and don't want my time taken up having to express

- dh can make up some bottles

- baby has had full control of my body for 9 months (and believe me i know about it) and I would quite like it back thank you very much.

[Rosemary 10]

Katwalk, like you I find it really strange when people dismiss the idea of breastfeeding from the word go. The way I looked at it was that I had gone to all that trouble of being pregnant and giving birth, why would I give up at the last hurdle and not feed my baby? We have milk producing boobs for a reason, and I find bottle feeding just a really weird idea. Milk from a cow, processed in a factory, instead of the milk intended for him made by my very own self!!!

 

I know this is a very simplistic way of looking at it, and I have every sympathy with people who try to breastfeed and it doesn't work out (for whatever reason) but why not give it a go? I think one of the problems is that the advice given is pretty dishonest - ie 'it's all lovely, it won't hurt if you've doing it right... etc etc'. Rubbish! Prepare for toe curling pain, but know that it will more than likely be gone in a few weeks. Get yourself a tube of Lansinoh and brace yourself - it really is worth it in the end. No getting up in night to make bottles, no sterilising, no danger of going out and forgetting to take bottles, getting back into shape... the list goes on. I'm now pregnant with number 2 and am looking to curling up on the sofa to feed him, eating some biscuits, drinking a cup of tea while OH runs round after toddler!!!!!

[katy1981 10]

when i had my first child i refused to breast feed as i felt it would be embarrassing but when i had my second 8 years later i choose to breast feed and was really enjoying it and i got a lot of support from the midwives but due to a combination of my not eating enough (i lost my appetite before and after the birth) i wasn't producing milk with enough calories and my baby got a bad water infection she lost a lot of weight and was ill so she wasn't sucking enough and/or for long enough so i started to produce less and less milk so in the end i had to give in for my baby's health and put her on formula.

fortunately she put lots of weight on then and all was well, i tried for 5 months and feel i did all i could for my baby and i would breast feed again if i had anymore kids and would recommend anyone to try it if they wanted too.

 

id also recommend an electric breast pump if you choose to breast feed as they seem to be more effective than the manual ones.

[Saff 10]

I breastfed both my children and it was definitely the best thing for me although I found it hard to wean my youngest- she really didn't want to give it up! Just do what's best for you and your baby, breast or bottle, don't feel any guilt and don't worry about what other people are doing or let someone else tell you what to do.

[Corbyn 10]

Katwalk, like you I find it really strange when people dismiss the idea of breastfeeding from the word go. The way I looked at it was that I had gone to all that trouble of being pregnant and giving birth, why would I give up at the last hurdle and not feed my baby? We have milk producing boobs for a reason, and I find bottle feeding just a really weird idea. Milk from a cow, processed in a factory, instead of the milk intended for him made by my very own self!!!

 

I know this is a very simplistic way of looking at it, and I have every sympathy with people who try to breastfeed and it doesn't work out (for whatever reason) but why not give it a go? I think one of the problems is that the advice given is pretty dishonest - ie 'it's all lovely, it won't hurt if you've doing it right... etc etc'. Rubbish! Prepare for toe curling pain, but know that it will more than likely be gone in a few weeks. Get yourself a tube of Lansinoh and brace yourself - it really is worth it in the end. No getting up in night to make bottles, no sterilising, no danger of going out and forgetting to take bottles, getting back into shape... the list goes on. I'm now pregnant with number 2 and am looking to curling up on the sofa to feed him, eating some biscuits, drinking a cup of tea while OH runs round after toddler!!!!!

 

I agree with most of this. I breastfed ds for 8 months and recently stopped fedding dd at 13 months. For the most part I enjoyed feeding dd, not so much ds but I felt it was best for him so I did it.

 

It's not all great and I to feel for people who try to bf and can't for some reason. I think it's very easy to have a go at midwives, health visitors etc for pressurising but it's really easy to give up on bf before you've given it a chance to get better and sometimes you need a bit of pressure to get you past the first tough bit. I'm not saying everyone should bf but you may well not do it when actually given the time it might have worked out well for you.

 

As for relaxing whilst the oh runs after the toddler, well I must admit at times it was tough to be bf with a 2 (now 3) year old to look after too but I certainly won't be the first or last to do it. Everyone has a choice to make about bf but it seems like a lot of people feel the need to explain/justify not bf. There are so many excuses not to bf but if you can do it why not give it a go? There are so many women who desperately want to and are unable to.

[rubydazzler 11]

I was obviously very lucky as I never had any pain or discomfort, except a couple of times when I missed a feed due to going out for the evening and woke up next morning with two rugby balls clamped to my chest! Luckily I had someone right next to me only too willing to help take the pressure off

 

And despite feeding for nearly a year, I never once had to 'whip my breasts out' in public. I can't envisage when anything like that would be necessary?

 

Give it a go, and don't let people put you off doing what you want to do. It's your baby, you feed it how you want to. Breast is just less hassle and more hygienic, imo.

Edited December 5, 2010 by rubydazzler
typo!