I think there's a definite lack of education of breastfeeding & how to do it!!!!!! Yes, I did attend antenatal classes but the one on breastfeeding was deferred & I'd given birth by then!!!!
I was extremely naive thinking that it was natural & that there was nothing to it at all. Raised on a farm watching calves & lambs & kittens & puppies..............I mean, no one shows them how to do it!!!!! It's completely 100% natural!!!!!
I had the birth from hell................I had PPH [post partum haemorrhage] losing at least 2.5 litres of blood immediately after delivery. I was in no physical condition whatsoever to breastfeed. I was literally unable to even lift my own finger!!!
36 hours later I was given 2 units of blood ie. blood transfusion however I believe I could have done with twice that amount.
Because of everything that had happened I was induced, dd was born 15 days early etc she was also jaundiced & I think around day 4 or 5 had to go into an isolette. I also moved from the birthing hospital back to my 'home' hospital [bad mistake that was].
The midwives at the first hospital gave conflicting advice as to what to do. I had huge probs with dd latching properly. Please also remember I was battling to even hold my own newborn baby!!!!!!
As previously mentioned, moving back to my 'home' hospital was something we really lived to regret. DD wasn't gaining weight & we were having ongoing issues with her latching pretty much refusing my left breast altogether. One '*****' of a midwife kept on giving her water!!!!!!!!!! As if that was helping us!!!!! Later on I told her to stop giving her water & she went off at me saying that as far as she was concerned I was starving my child!!!!!!!!!! And yet she was the ***** giving her water all the time!!!!!
Pretty much everything had gone wrong it really had. For those of you who don't know, aren't aware, after having PPH there IS genuine difficulty re breastfeeding for obvious reasons. Your body has been through hell literally!!!
For us there was lack of sleep, lack of support, lack of care............honestly the midwives/nurses were pretty much no use at all. I loved one of the night nurses though with midwife experience. She was honest & down to earth & said to me during the early hours one morning when I was having probs yet again with Krystalee feeding from the left breast...............that she'd had the same thing with her own son & actually continued to feed from the one breast only. And, it wasn't a problem at all!!! She also said the sooner I could get home to my own routine the better.
I was in 'jail' for 10 days!!!!!!!!! I was that stressed out about my ability to breastfeed at home, alone...........that I even bought gear to express etc. The funny thing was, the minute we were home dd fed from my left breast!!!!!!!!!!
I had midwives grabbing at my nipples...........telling me to do this...........hold dd like that etc etc etc. 99% of them didn't 'consider' what I'd been through & why I was having so many problems & combined with a jaundiced baby [they like to sleep all the time] we of course were having many many issues to deal with. The 1 night nurse whom I did like even said to me, in years gone by, I would have been 1 of those women who actually died from childbirth!!!
I wish 'all' midwives not just some of them, had compassion & understanding. I don't really care that they do this day in & day out. It's their job. I don't care that some women have absolutely no problems breastfeeding & therefore supposedly all women should be the same.........'cos we're not!!!! We're all individuals & we're all unique. We shouldn't be made to feel guilty, like failues, like there's something wrong with us etc if we are experiencing probs with breastfeeding.
BTW, I went on to breastfeed for 18 months!!!! For the first 3 months I felt like quitting every single day. It was painful. It was hard. It was time consuming. I was extremely drained & in poor physical condition. Extremely sleep deprived, in the first few weeks, having to breastfeed 24/7 every single 3 hours 'cos of dd's jaundice.
Without my husband's support, he was actually my carer in hospital I would never have made it!!! He was my rock & my only rock!!!! DD made the decision to wean at 18 months. After everything that I'd been through I would have kept going for much longer if she had wanted it!!!!
I also miss it now!!!! Once she stopped breastfeeding so often & for so long, probably once solids started at 6 months, it was definitely a lot more enjoyable. There is a distinct lack of support & respect towards breastfeeding mothers in society!!!
OK enough from me!!!!!!! I've probably gone off-track a bit here & there, but I suppose the main thing is more education, more 'consistency' with what midwives say & do, more support & more compassion & empathy!!!
Kerry