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

[Rouge]

Can we please not make this thread a for and against about FF vs BF.

This thread & poll has been simply started to find out "What do you think is the biggest barrier to breastfeeding In Australia?"

If you have something to add to this discussion fantastic. But please do NOT turn this thread into another anti vs pro. Or posts will be edited or removed.

If you have a problem with the content of a post you can report it and we will deal with it appropriately. Lets not loose sight of the topic, please.

*hugs*
Cailin

[becmc]

I think mis-information from health professionals is a huge barrier, alot of them really don't know what they are talking about.
For example, a friend's new bub wasn't putting on weight and she couldn't express much, so the health nurse told her to not feed at all overnight and in the morning there will be enough to express for a full feed??????? Terrible advice, night feeds are the most important in building supply and some women just cannot express no matter how much milk they have. Needless to say, she couldn't express anything in the morning, thought she had no milk and put her bub on the bottle.
When my ds was 5 months his weight gain slowed considerably, I was told to comp with formula which I only did once thank god, and then I called the ABA. They were great and told me that it is normal for bf bubs to slow with weight gain at around five months, unlike formula bubs who gain consistently.
The health nurses just don't know what they are talking about, and are putting off so many new mums who are very emotional anyway, and making them feel inadequate so they give up.

[Smoke Jaguar]

I could not agree more with some posts here about BFing being 'natural'. Yes, it's natural, but we're not 'naturalS' at it in technique! Milk is there, boobs are there, babies mouth is there...we've lost the in-between bits with the way our society operates. It operates behind closed doors where everything is a private matter and so much is not normalised to us.
When I mention that Oscar can feed for as long as he likes, some people say "what if you fall pregnant again?", and they are confused when I reiterate "for as long as he likes", because they are under the impression that feeding must cease when pregnant. That's an education issue.
With education (on more than just how to attach your baby, but on the many benefits of BM for mother and child) you have the comebacks to all sorts of criticisms. And when people realise that you know what you are doing and WHY, they stop saying dumb things (well, mostly).