What do you think is the biggest barrier to breastfeeding In Australia?

[annef6722]

hi
1. conflicting advice after birth/lack of continuity of care
the nurses all had their own methods of breastfeeding - makes it too confusing. most of them seemed to query my ability to feed, and seemed surprised i'd been able to feed my first son. even though i fed him for 10months, and am now sucessfully feeding my second.
only one of about ten nurses made me feel competent about feeding my baby.
so more consistency needed among nurses, and more reassuring advice.

2. women feeling "funny" about breastfeeding - as if their breasts were designed for sexual purposes only. i don't understand this, but it is common among my friends.

thanks
anne

[Roryrory]

I think it was the education I sought out before BF that made it so easy for me. I really feel for women who have problems and I know that biologically there was something in Flynn and me that just worked, but I have read so much about correct attachment, foremilk/hindmilk, posture feeding, different holds, how to prevent/fix mastitis, how often/whether to use cream, etc that I had LCs in hospital asking me if this was really the first time I had BF.

[charli_girl]

I voted for lack of education - but there are so many factors that contribute. I think overall, we are generally under-educated about breastfeeding as a society, and I do think the normalisation of ABM undermines BF.

I also think that there is a bit of stigma attached to BF (no pun intended). From my experience, women who perservere with BF after 3-6 months are almost labelled as 'hippy tree-huggers', regardless of the world health organisation endorsing BF for a minimum of 2 years. Interestingly, the average age for weaning is 4 years... why do Australian authorities recommend for only 6 months?

Personally, I love BF my little boy and plan to for as long as it works for both of us.

Anyway, I'll get off my high horse now

[nelly]

I too think that they all contribute in some way.

I am one in a group of eight friends who had babies last year of whom only myself and one other are still breastfeeding. My son is 6m3wk and hers is just 6mths.

I remember when I was in hospital how every midwife would have a different form of advice, a different way to attach and everytime all bar one very kind woman came in and I was feeding (or trying to) when they left I felt totally useless and that everything I was doing was wrong.

When I got home a friend who is an ABA member lent me a video and book she borrowed from their library and invited me to some meetings. I also utilised the ABA email counselling and after about 4 weeks I finally felt that I know what I was doing. I didn't help that I had a reflux baby - but that's another story.

My best friend's sister was diagnosed with PND and anxiety, a lot of which my friend thought was attributed to how her sister felt "consumed' by breastfeeding and she consequently gave it up after maybe 4 wks. After that everytime I saw her or my friend it was to comments like "oh you are still breastfeeding, goodness when are you going to get him on a bottle to make it easier".... etc ....

My sister in law was ejected from a regional public hospital after a caesar on her 3rd day and her milk hadn't even come in. She is now having feeding problems and is about to quit. This is aggravated even more by a narrow minded mother who bottle fed her babies and disliked BF telling her to wean now and it will be easier later.

Another friend who gave away feeding because of ongoing attachment problems, "milk problems" and the fact that she didn't enjoy it. She was also diagnosed with PND and attriuted a lot of it to breastfeeding and being "consumed". Once again more pressure about how could I still be breastfeeding...

I love feeding my son and find it extremely easy now but at the time the pressure was amazing...

My son was a big nine and a half pound baby and loves his booby feeds. When he was going through his 4wk growth spurt he was feeding every 2 hours and I was constantly innundated with comments like " my god are you feeding him again" and " maybe you don't have enough milk" and "your milk might not be very good quality" - they followed me everytime we sat down to our feed.

It was enough to make me quit BF.

I think there is a lot of support out there but it isn't made easily accessible from the start if you don't know where to look or have someone around you who can help direct you. There are health providers / friends profligating the beliefs that is your baby is feeding 2 hourly you don't have enough milk etc. There are also too many conflicting areas of advice when you are in hospital, and women being sent home before they can even feed their baby and with little or no support once they get home.

I also remember being in hospital and constantly bombarded with BF is best message. Now I know it is and I did then as well, but when you are trying to get started and it doesn't come easy and you are too scared to ask for help you struggle with the message. I remember feeling like I had failed as a woman and mother because I couldn't just do it easily straight away and all the literature told me it was natural, it was best and you had to do it.

I think the blame lies in so many areas - midwifes / nurses not having their training updated, women being sent home too early and with little or no support, poorly educated friends and family who know no better and think they know best, women too scared to ask for help for fear of looking like a failure, over zealous BF advocates and literature etc.

Sorry to go on but I feel quite passionate as I was one of the women who really wanted to BF, but was stuck in the middle of BF nazis and those telling me it was too hard and to get on the bottle. I am glad I stuck to it now as it is just the most precious thing and will hopefully still be BF when Jake is 12mths and beyond.

[meow]

I really think it's got a lot to do with breastfeeding being such an 'unknown' in our society. I have so many friends that say they had never even seen a mother breastfeed before they tried it themselves. Or only ever someone who was already past the 'hard stage' and so many people don't realise it takes effort and perseverance.
So I'd go with lack of education and also accessibility to formula (you wouldn't be so quick to use it if you lived on a remote island!).

[*Jessica*]

Honestly???!! It is soooo hard, no-one told me that?! And in what I believe is a 'give up too soon' generation, why wouldn't you stop the pain and give the baby a bottle, esp when formula is so easy to come by? I was lucky enough to hang in there, and realise the pain and difficulties does go away and it is a great thing.

[Phteven]

Can I say all of the above lol.
If i had to pick one I would say cultural influences/expectations & advice from family & friends. This is just from my own experience but the people I know who didn't breastfeed or only brestfed for a short time were mainly from families with a culture of not breastfeeding. A couple of examples - a friend who was using artificial milk by the time she left hospital with her first born had been told that none of the women in her family could breastfeed. With her second after encouragement from midwives and me she breastfed successfully until the third trimester of her third pregnancy.
SIL was told the same story by MIL - that she wouldn't be able to breastfeed because MIL couldn't. She started breastfeeding successfully but after a few months when her baby was going through a growth spurt and was waking up alot in the night MIL told SIL that she couldn't make enough milk and that she should give formula and do CC. Sadly SIL followed MIL's advice and that was the end of her BF relationship with her daughter.
In contrast I always believed that I could and would breastfeed because that's my family culture. I had my share of difficulties especially with Imran and his wonky tongue but we got there in the end. With Imran formula was nearly my undoing - MIL left a can in my house and at about 10 days with scabs on my nipples, a sore c-section scar and almost no sleep it was incredibly tempting. Luckily my DH talked me out of it.

FWIW I think that breastfeeding needs to be promoted realistically. In my ante-natal classes they showed us holds but they never told us that it could be difficult and excruciatingly painful. If women were more prepared for the difficulties of the early days they might be more inclined see it as normal and to continue instead of assuming that they couldn't do it.

[*Elle*]

I chose Lack of education,

for me I was a new and young mum and the hospital was way to understaffed to cope with any of my needs to have a midwife or a breastfeeding councelor available to teach me and show me and help me through the rough times. I felt so alone through my breastfeeding trials, and yes those services were available but you had to book in and wait for them to be available for your needs, breastfeeding was alot harder than I thought it would be, I dont remember ever really talking about it prior to birth, just that I was going to give it a go.

I turned to formular because I couldnt bare it any longer, and with my Daughter I got mastitus very badly on both sides, this was becasue she was not attaching properly, but no one had the time or the staff requirements to back up having someone spend some time and make sure I was doing this properly.

[PlonkeeMumma]

For me, definitely lack of support. i had all sorts of problems with DS#1 and stayed in hospital for a week and although the midwives tried to help i didn't find them very supportive at all. One even said to me 'welcome to the real world' when i was crying when feeding due to horrendous c/s scar pain. The hospital i was at had a lactation specialist (i found out afterwards) but no one asked her to come and see me. I gave up after 2 weeks. I was lucky with DS#2 that i didn't have any probs and he was a great feeder so still b/f him now.

[Jodie259]

I found that I had plenty of support and offers to help...
but with sleep deprivation and huge stress - before and after the birth of my child - I just never produced enough milk. I had plenty of help in hospital. I had 4 MCHN come to my home. I spent an entire day at a lactation centre. The help is there... but so is the pressure!!!

I found the pressure to HAVE to breastfeed even more stressful...

After my child was losing large amounts of weight consistently (for weeks) - I was more stressed.

Although formula was reluctantly suggested before I left hospital (because my son was suffering so much)... I wish that there had been more support right from the start to top up with formula and continue with breastfeeding. But it seemed everyone was anti-formula until it became a desperate situation.

I saw another mother absolutely beside herself because her daughter was constantly crying from difficulties with breastfeeding. I somehow managed to keep myself together in comparision. But I am not surprised by the prevalence of PND when the pressure to breastfeed is so high. I understand it's a great thing... and I don't knock it at all. I am going to give it a 100% go with my 2nd child. And I did everything I possibly could with my 1st. Even the lactation centre that I visited said I should stick with formula.

I think the pressure to breastfeed from everyone is the biggest detterent. You are nearly made to feel like a 'bad mother' if you don't b/f... which only adds to more pressure.

EDIT: I did not vote as I felt none of the options were relevant to me. I felt the PRESSURE to have to breastfeed caused stress and anxiety which added to the milk supply problems

[staraus1]

Breastfeeding should be encouraged but not at the expense of the relationship of mother and child. 12 years ago I had my first, I tried to breastfeed for 3.5 weeks, distressed baby, distressed mother. I saw Lactations consultants in my home and there home, early childhood nurses. My technique was right I had enough milk blah blah blah. With severe depression I went to my GP 1.5 hrs drive away and was told to put her on formula and me on anti depressants. Two years later my milk finally dried up naturally.
Foward 8 years and I had my second child, wanted to try again, I was aware of PND had a great support network. Finally my problem was revealed, I had fibrous nipples. My children will never feel comfortable. Tried nipples shields but in the end opted for expressing and feeding from a bottle the expressed milk. I could hand express and fill a bottle in 5 minutes. So here we are no. 3 is due in Sept. I am more aware and more relaxed about it now. I have my pump and my bottle ready. I will not be made to feel like a failure. I applaud women that 'can do it', but please dont inflict your opinions so harshly on mothers just trying to do there best as well. We all love our children but some have abilities that others lack. We are all dont foregt only human.
Helen

[Debi77]

From reading what you have all said, I think a continuity of support and education throughout the process is very important. Changing people who are the first point of access for information would make it very difficult if they are all giving conflicting information. Ideally breast feeding is clearly the best option, however, sometimes there are obsticles which cannot be avoided which hinder the process. Ultimately the most important thing is the health and welfare and the child and mother, and whilst breatfeeding should be promoted and vigourously encouraged, if it is not the most viable option, a mother should not be made to feel bad for taking the formula option, especially when it may be in the best interests of the child.

That said, I was extremely fortunate, I breast fedd my first child to six months, when I returned to full time work. I worked part time for 4 months before that, and because I work for my inlaws, I was able to bring my son to work with me and breastfeed him there. I never had a problem with breast feeding, we both took to it straight away, with no medical complications or otherwise. From the sound of others experiences, it would appear that I was in the minority, and I certainly hope that my next experience is as good as the first. (I dont want sore boobies for Christmas LOL)

[Airlie]

Hi I get quiet angry over the pressure of breastfeeding and how it affects the women that really can't breast feed no matter what occurs. I agree that Breast Feeding is the first option any new mother should try, but in many cases some women find it impossible to breast feed and a lot of these times it is detremental to the baby's health for the mother to continue trying. I am pregnant with baby no 3. I am unable to breastfeed no matter what. Medication I take normally affects the thickness of my skin so that my babies get more blood than milk and have me feeling very tense until my milk dries up because of emotions. I always feed as long as possible usually only a couple of days after birth to try to give my babies the best start they can have, but after that it is no good for the baby or me. Not only that within a couple of weeks of having a baby I get very sick and need to go back on medication which I can not breastfeed while doing so. If I don't take the medication I can not take care of my baby as I am unable to move or hold it and am in constant pain. On one occasion I was made to feel that it was all my fault by one midwife who said all women can breastfeed and that I was causing the problems, at the same time thankfully the other midwifes sat me down and told me not to continue as it was no good for me or the baby. This all occured with my first baby, with my second I tried again and with 12 hours they sat me down again and advised that I not continue. Not only did I have a bad experience with a midwife with my second baby which made me feel crap about myself for days, but I was then also excluding from the mothers group because I was a non breastfeeding mother. I do agree that breastfeeding in majority of circumstances is the best thing for mother and baby, but this is not always the case and the mothers that truly are unable to breastfeed should not be made to feel inadequate about themselves or their parenting skills, this is a large contribution to mothers depression. Even while bottle feeding I still did all the feeding so that I had the contact with my baby, I did not let anyone else do this feeding and still kept that contact between the baby and me. I am now expecting my third child and once again very nervous about the breastfeeding issue, once again I will try and continue as long as I can but as I am on these tablets all the time now believe my chances are even worse than before. I get nervous even thinking about having to stay in the hospital and dealing with other mothers and midwifes when I may not be able to breastfeed. The hospital I am now closest too has a policy on breastfeeding and does not give mothers any support at all if they do not breastfeed. So does that now mean I will be out on my own once again and have no support network. I think breastfeeding mothers should feel privelged that they are able to enjoy this experience and not descrimate against the mothers that are unable to have this experience but support them.

[azima]

I voted lack of education. I think a lot of mums thing FF is as good as BF. That it's an equal choice IYKWIM. Also most FF mums I've met don't understand supply/demand so believe they had to 'top-up'. And that at 3mths it starts to feel different; doesn't mean you don't have enough.

[neeny]

I coudln't vote here because my reason was medication - unless you classify that as medical intervention? But I take that as being "advised not to" by medical professionals where as after colustrom I had to stop.

Just remember, as Caro said, not everyone can breastfeed and there was a story on "What's good for you" about it a while ago and the main reason for not breastfeeding was health/medications. Just because some of us FF doesn't mean we gave up too early or just wanted to. All my SILs BF and they now understand why I couldn't - they never gave me a hard time about it and that was a relief!

Besides I have friends who BF and FF - one in particular used Formula overnight to help her baby sleep longer and she said it worked for her.

Saying that - I read articles about breast milk banks and think it would be good to have breast milk accessible to every mother who can't BF. I think that would be rather expensive though!

Congrats Kelly on your Pariliamentary submission and hope all goes well.

[~Raven~]

I voted for Family &/ friends ideals/advice/expectation.

For me I only had two friends who were successful at breast feeding. As it was something I really wanted to do they motivated me to keep going when my mum, MIL, cousins & neighbours all told me to put the baby on the bottle because that is what they did. Breastfeeding was too much hassle for them and they were trying to spare me I guess. It's something that everyone had an opinion on and they were quite outspoken about it.
Even now I get comments from a few family members that they can't believe I put up with breastfeeding for so long!

[ZigZag]

I put lack of education. Had I known that it was normal to experience a lull in supply at around 2-3 months, I would've tried harder than 2 weeks to get my supply back up. I did go to clinics and doctor but no body really said that it was normal to experience a temporary drop in your supply. I expressed myself to know end but got too worked up about having to put her on formula, I'm sure it made it worse. I think I would've been far more relaxed and accepting of it, had I known it would eventually come back up (as I understand now, usually it does).

[barney]

well i have four children and i think we need more support before we leave the hospitals we are not given enough advice although some of us just are unable to bf and i think its a choice that really has to be made by both partners