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

For me it was Lack of education. I was very determined to breastfeed, but also very scared. I had a vaginal birth and asked to be able to breastfeed straight away. DD was popped on my boob and she went for it. Unfortunatly she was not attached properly and caused blisters within 2 minutes. Aside from that I had various suggestions on attachment during my 2.5 day stay at The Royal Womens in Melbourne. Then I went home......
My daughter was feeding every 30-45 minutes for 15 minutes at a time. She was having explosive poo's and always crying. My nipples were bleeding and I started to express as it was less painful for night feeds. I rand the breastfeeding advice line in my blue book and asked for help. They suggested I come in to the clinic and get help. I was booked in for Wednesday... 6 days away. I hung up and cried for an hour, attempted 2 more feeds and then called my husband in tears and told him through sobs to get some formula and bottles as I could not do this one more time. My daughter had 2 formula feeds and actually stayed asleep for more than 20 minutes. I then called the maternal help line and they talked me around to trying again... I did, for 2 days. I also cried for 2 days. My sister came over and found me in the bathroom, nearly asleep on the floor... yup, I has mastitis. She popped me in the shower and helped me releive some pressure. I rang the maternal help line and explained what was happening and they advised to express regulary and keep trying, if my temp went higher that 40 (it was 39) then go to the doctors.
That night I changed to formular for good. At 8 am I was called by the breastfeeding clinic to advise a spot was open and I could go in earlier. I hung up without saying a word.
Since then I have found out so much more, such as DD was only getting foremilk, hence the explosive poos and excessive feeding and crying. That I could have only fed on one side for a few days to let my worst nipple heal... oh the list goes on.
My daughter was a hppy child and has had no major health problems, however to this day 2 years on I still wish I had better information and more available help when I was going through this.

Without a doubt it is the lack of continuity and education. Also the main one that is missing, I feel, is the fact that no one ever gets to SEE a woman attach a baby and breastfeed anymore. Society expects us to cover up and you dont get to see a baby breastfeed generally, until it is your own. We are having our babies later so that means that our daughters dont get to see their mothers feed either. Our culture prevents us from learning from our peers.

I also feel that alot of carers believe that because you have breastfed one baby you will automatically know what to do with subsequent babies....not so....I am proof of that, with damaged nipples the second time around due to poor attachement. It is a learning process all over again with each new baby especially if there is a big age gap. Carers need to give every new baby and new mum or experienced mum follow up care with attachment and positioning

Cheers
Loretta Frino

Absolutely the lack of education. WIth more education there would be less birth intervention. We aren't even warned to watch out for the 6 week mark where baby can be a bit fussy, that is the time when most of the people I know give up because they think they have not enough milk, or baby is too hungry, or something silly like that. Why aren't we warned of this time, and told how to get through it?

Linda.

I also can't speak for Australian women, in particular, but I have a feeling that things are similar here. I think that the influence/opinions of family and friends is very important to a new mother's decision. This is often where she learns a lot of her own parenting - from her mum. (Not that she can't make her own decisions, of course.) And these are the people she likely be turning to for support and encouragement and advice. She will be visiting with them, and having to nurse her baby with them there, which I would find quite uncomfortable, if I knew they thought I was silly for doing it. On the other hand, knowing that my mother nursed all of us, and always told us that it was best for babies, as well as being cheapest, and always ready, meant that I never really considered formula for my newborns. I knew I would have encouragement and support for my decision to nurse my babies.
I personally don't find the availability of formula so much of a deterent to nursing. Cigarettes, alcohol, and junk food are also available to me, and advertised all over, but it doesn't mean I'll use them, or give them to my kids! I also think that it is important to have good quality formula available to women who find themselves unable to nurse, for one reason or another. (I ran out after 4 months with DD1, after having double pneumonia, and DD2 refused to nurse anymore at 8 months - too young for cow milk.)
Education is also very important, I think. Prospective mothers certainly need to know the benefits of nursing, as well as the potential problems. I've heard mothers who said that their midwife/doctor told them that if something hurts, you're doing it wrong. To me that's misleading. It's going to hurt for a few days. When your milk comes in, it hurts. That's normal. Latching on might be a challenge to get right. (and give resources for support and information) Of course, this is going to be a challenge to present in the right way, so that mothers are not scared off. I've heard it said that for a new mother to know what breast feeding is like, she should try it for six weeks. That will be about how long it takes to work out some of the problems, and to develop a routine of nursing. New mothers should maybe hear advice like that, and be encouraged to hang in there through those first few rough weeks. And if after six weeks, they still are frustrated, uncomfortable, and in pain, I personally think they should feel no guilt about switching to a good quality formula. They gave it a good shot, and gave their baby some of the most important benefits of nursing. Struggling for longer than that with nursing, I think, can become counter-productive.
One final thing that I find a deterent to nursing is the idea of having boobs flapping around in public. :rolleyes: Boobs are private, and the lack of availability of clean, comfortable, private nursing rooms definitely makes nursing difficult. Especially for a new, first-time mum, trying to learn how to nurse, or for a mum with a highly distractable infant, feeding a baby in public is challenging! When I had DD1, if I was out with her for an afternoon, I would take her to the car, and drive to a remote location, so I could nurse in privacy! With DD2, I relaxed a little, but still, nice, private rooms are few and far between, and they would make things a lot easier!
Anyways, I hope you can make sense of my long rambling, and I hope it is of some use to you! Thanks!

I found that the education here (Canberra) is quite good... I do have quite a good support network though and am very lucky in that regard!

I think what will be hard for me this time, is the need to go back to work... I am hoping to be able to express, but if the need to go back to work wasn't so important and places of employment set up some way bf'ing mothers could take time out during the day to express or run home to feed bubs, it would be a great help.

I will be discussing this issue in my workplace prior to me going on Mat leave.

"I also think that it is important to have good quality formula available to women who find themselves unable to nurse, for one reason or another." (Cricket)


Very good point Cricket. I'm complimenting my BFing with formula ATM and after reading Chloe's posted article "Suck on This" (I think it was called) I'm feeling very dubious about what's actually in the stuff as well.

If women were able to donate breast milk just as they donate blood (both life giving fluids if you think about it) and if the donated expressed breast milk (EBM) could be heat treated and powdered wouldn't that be fantastic?! However there has been a thread about "would you use donated breast milk?" (words to that effect) and I was surprised by the number of women who had a psychological barrier to using human milk as opposed to cows.

I am the first to admit I was against breastfeeding thinking it was vulgar and unnatural - until I become a mother myself almost 3 weeks ago. I believe there is a stimga about breastfeeding in Australia where it is seen as pornographic and explicit in public by many (and I once again I admit I was once one of those people).

For many people (mostly men I believe) a naked breast is purely seen as a sexual object and not one of nourishment and survival.

Apart from that, I personally felt alot of pressure from midwives in the hospital to 'only' breastfeed - however my daughter breastfeeds every 1-2 hours at night, giving me very little sleep to the point that it was affecting my health and milk supply. I now only bottle feed at night and it has been my cure to fatigue and makes my bonding experience with Rachel even more special as I am more alert to be with her. Last night I was blessed with over 6 hours uninterupted sleep and Rachel was happy and alert during her bath time and even managed a little smile as we locked gazes.

I feel that bottle feeding allows my husband to bond with his daughter and gives me a break to revive my body and spirit.

However I do feel that every woman has a right to choose what is best for not only her child but also herself. Breast or bottle - we are keeping our children alive and preparing them to face the world. I just wish that the general public can respect a woman's decision. Let's face it - we all eat in public. Why can't our children?

Let's hope our small voices can create a ROAR in parliament!!

xx

Hearing the Committee for the inquiry speak they are very keen to recommend the establishment of milk banks Australia wide. It does make me wonder about how many women are opposed to giving their babies donor breastmilk but have no problems feeding their babies something from a cow. Perhaps because it is a fairly new thing to get used to and in time people may get used to the idea. The WHO lists FF as 4th way to feed a baby after your own milk or expressed milk or donor milk.

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We aren't even warned to watch out for the 6 week mark where baby can be a bit fussy, that is the time when most of the people I know give up because they think they have not enough milk, or baby is too hungry, or something silly like that. Why aren't we warned of this time, and told how to get through it?

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It is sad that you weren't told about this. As a CE/trainee counsellor for ABA I give antenatal talks at my local hospital. This is one of the points I really try to bring home as it is really common especially at the 3mth mark for women to stop BF because they think they have no more milk.
I just read a very interesting submission that was put up on the website yesterday. It is from a lady in Victoria who strongly believes that BF rates would increase in Australia if women were encouraged to bed share. It was a very interesting read and a lot of what she said made perfect sense.

Hi All
I dont have the time to go into great detail and jump on my pro-breastfeeding band wagon. However I just wanted to tell you what I think is the biggest issue with breastfeeding (Wel to me anyway) I have a bub who is 16 and breastfed. I am studying a nursing degree and really need to go back to work for financial reasons. I live in a town with no friends or family so need to put my kids in childcare, yet im told that I cant send Expressed Breast Milk to child care, what the????

My other problem is that lets say I found a daycare that would allow me to send breatmilk there, what am i supposed to do? My work wont allow me to keep going off and express milk? Wouldnt it be great if they did??/

wow i think that all of this things can contribute to a failed breastfeeding relationship. i believe that some women just don't think it is a priority to breastfeed. i believe that some women are embarrassed to breastfeed as they are not comfortable with their breasts and it is not seen as the norm. toys are sold with bottles for babies normalising bottle feeding. i had to buy a breastfeeding mother and baby from overseas! i believe that artificial milk should be prescription only - not just available at the corner shop. this would ensure that a (Correctly and suffeciently educated) health professional discussed all the cons of artificially feeding a baby and to ensure that the mother's issues have been thouroughly discussed and education to rectafy the problem. i think that confidence needs to be given back to women that they do have enough milk and can breastfeed their baby. it is distressing how many mothers stop breastfeeding because they were 'starving their baby' - if baby's have free access to the breast 24/7 this is very uncommon. health professionals need to be made accountable to breastfeeding failure rates - this would encourage them to learn more about breastfeeding and how it can be successful.
beckles

Goodness - to pick just one? I think they all have their place in becoming barriers to breastfeeding. I chose lack of education in the poll, but to add to that, lack of community role models - we don't grow up watching women breastfeed their babies. Girls aren't raised with knowledge on how to and how not to. Boys aren't raised with the idea that bf is the norm, so can find it more difficult to relinquish temporary sole 'custody' and support their women in bf.

Next up IMO would probably be the availability of artificial milk. As we have all mentioned, bf is a learned process. When we don't have all those wonderful years of experience surrounding us as we're learning, difficulties are more likely to occur. And when you're in incredible physical and emotional pain, feeding your hungry babe is your priority. Again, with lack of trusted experience around us, to help us through the feeding difficulties - artificial milk becomes the fastest option to feed a hungry babe.

Conflicting advice from professionals and relatives comes in at a hot third. Our society is relearning the art of bf because it has been lost to us for so long - so in the last 50 to 100 years, many theories, techniques and 'experts' have surfaced in that time. Not everyone is up to date (health professionals included) on what has been discounted and what the latest schools of thought are.

Interventions at birth certainly play their part. Narcotics in the bloodstream of both Mother and Babe have effects; physical and emotional trauma if they occur can impede. Going back to work - for sure! A girl in my mother's group felt obligated to her workplace to return when her babe was 4 months old, so she introduced artificial milk 'just for the 2 days she'd be away'. A week in, her babe was exclusively artificially fed, because, in her opinion, it was easier.

A personal rant, if I may. TV personalities have a big impact I'm sure. Channel 9's daytime "The Catch-up" presenter Libby Gore, unashamedly referred to breastfeeding women as "Nipple Nazi's", while in the same sentence remarked how women should be supporting each other in our choices. :angry: Not surprising, their chat forum had crashed by the time I got on there to voice my thoughts!

I don't know where the solution lies. But perhaps, because feeding our children with human milk is so vital to the myriad of proven societal and health factors - we need to place utmost importance on the correct information given to all women having children (if not before). Perhaps a body of government funded lactation consultants with the most continous, up to date information from around the world be the only recommended professionals to give advice on breastfeeding.

I was in a private hosp & the midwives were all very lovely, but I found the advice different/conflicting from each midwife. Also, they'd usually just come in & put her on, but I'd still be none the wiser on how to do it myself properly, my daughter would clamp down with her gums & it was very painful, I had to go to a clinic after I got out of hospital to get more advice, however still didn't feel I got adequate advice, then bought a 'nipple shield' & persisted (despite cracked/sore/bleeding/grazed nipples) & eventually got there but it was extremely hard I felt.

I wished I could have picked a few answers.

Initially I think EDUCTAION is a big one. When my milk first came in it was the most painful thing ever and something I was totally unprepared for. Noone told me about that in the lead-up to birth and the only pain I knew about was that I would experience in labour. I can see why it would scare a lot of women into stopping BF without giving it a propper shot. Luckily I didn't have huge problems with attachment, but for those women who experience extreme pain with engorgement AND attachment issues, I can understand that they would jsut want to stop, especially not knowing how long the pain would last for and when (or IF) it would ever settle down. Once someone has had bad experinces BF (generally form not knowing what to expect) it makes it harder to want to do it again with subsequent babies.

Once you're over those initial issues, then ADVICE OF FRIENDS/FAMILY would be the big issue. I remember starting a fitness class with mums and bubs when my sone was 6w old (and alot of teh woment tehre had abbies teh same age). A couple of them were talking about giving formula to make babies sleep through, so quite a few dropped off breastfeeding and switched to formula because they were sick of broken sleep. Many found that their babies still woke up anyway (they were still so young!) but once they had stopped breastfeeding, there was no going back. I also agree with PP coments that everyone telling a breastfeeding Mum to stop and FF instead to eliminate the issues with tiredness/soreness is quite influencial. It would be much better if friends and family SUPPORTED the BF mum by perhaps offering to help out around the house while she fed or rested (BF does take longer to do than FF), or instead of telling them to stop, offered solutions of things she could try to help elliviate some of the problems. The problem is that so many people have FF and it's hard to find someone close to you that you trust and can be open with who has successfully BF.

Finally when you get past all of those issues and are still BF, you go back to work, and there is nowhere to BF baby (or bub isn't allowed on your worksite for a feed), and the only place you can expres milk is the toilet! Makes it hard to keep up the supply when you don't have access to a comfortable and private expressing area.

I just read one of the other comments above (re: men reliquishing "sole custody" to let Mum feed)and have to add:

There were times that I regretted my choice to breastfeed because it meant I was trapped. My husband works afternoon shift and wanted to spend the morning with his son every day as he couldn't see him at night. Fair enough. But that meant I wasn't able to leave the house. Where the baby was, I had to be. I sometimes felt like I was just a milk bar and nothing else. My relationship suffered because I was angry about not being able to get out. If I did go out to say mother's group, I felt relaxed and happy while I was there, and got home smiling, only to be grumbled at because I'd taken his son away from him. While breastfeeding, I couldn't stand to be away from my baby, as I was worried he'd need my milk as soon as I was gone. I think next time it should be easier as DH now knows that while breastfeeding, I need the baby with me. And for my sanity and our relationship, I also need time out occasionally (which means I TAKE the baby!) Perhaps Men need a bit of eductation when their wives are pregnant on how to SUPPORT a BF mum. We both went to the BF class run by the hospital, and I don't recall any mention of this. Husbands need to know what to expect too.

I have successfully breastfed my four children up to the ages of about 17mths. The biggest problem I had was the availability of artificial milk. Whenever they were fussy I was always told 'give him a bottle' most of my friends gave up very early as 'bottles were so much easier', In hospital it was suggested to give them top up bottles till my milk came in...I was sent home with bags full of artificial feeding sachets and advertising. The breastfeeding stuff was a single photocopy (hardly able to read it). Also the work problem is a farce! I had to express in a toilet and use my meal time too!

We actually had a poll some time ago when the WA milk bank opened and it was 50/50 as to who would be happy to use it and those who did not feel comfortable. I think the main issue was how the milk was sourced, worrying about what was in the milk they didn't know about... but I do know they have treatment and screening processes for that. It's change, will take a while for people to warm to I think, without it being out there and explained about safety. Quite a few who said no mentioned they would if it was from a friend.

How true Michelle! The only literature about breast feeding in my first information pack (with my first child) was a crookedly photocopied brochure that was so grainy from repeated cost-saving printing that it could hardly be read. How does that compare to the glossy warm fuzzy feel good brochures from the formula companies? The reason why the information is presently differently (I think) is because there is obviously no money to be made if women choose to breast feed. When women are at their most vulnerable and emotional they are easy targets for this kind of marketing. We are so isolated as mums these days that I suspect most of us are watching TV and reading magazines more frequently than talking ammongst ourselves. So what has happened is that methods of raising our children such as feeding, nappying, playing with etc that are in line with the advertisers desired outcomes are now considered the "norm" whilst non-money making methods (BFing, cloth nappies, home made games such as digging in the garden etc as opposed to expensive educational toys) are all being turned away from as we are seduced by the marketing companies. And a lot comes back to marketing masquerading as "information"! How many times are you told by your friends and family that "You're a GOOD mother"? not daily?... but this is exactly what the advertisers say and imply in their ads (if we purchase their product that is).... no wonder we lap it up! Because nothing introduces as much self doubt into the average woman's mind as motherhood!

Anyhow... here's me stepping off the soap-box LOL BTW I do use formula, disposable nappies, and buy expensive toys LOL but in a limited way... but people shouldn't be made to feel like they are giving their children anything less than the best from advertisers for refraining from purchasing their products more regularly.

i never considered not breastfeeding. I really believe having a true belief in myself and my body helped me to start and continue feeding (i think same applies to birth). I only found i started to doubt myself at the antenatel classes of all places where they talked about all the problems etc etc. I'm not advocating that this information isn't given to expectant mums, i'm just sharing my experience.
When i was pregnant i think my aim was to feed exclusively for 6 months and then wean. As i did more reseach into the benefits of continued breastfeeding and the very real risks of formula (which aren't well publiciced) I decided to continue on to the 12 month mark. In this time i found ABA which was a HUGE support to me and my breastfeeding relationship with my son. I was able to do away with the "guilt" of feeding to sleep, comfort feeding etc etc! Suddenly i realised that all these things were normal and natural. The way we were designed! I have since started (nearing completion) training to become and ABA counsellor. I have a huge passion for getting the correct information out there to women. At least if they have all the information women can make and INFORMED choice about the way to feed their children. i think far too often people believe they haven't got 'enough' having been told this by ill-informed health professionals or well-meaning relatives. And lets face it, any new mum is extreamly vulnerable especially if they are told their baby is "not thriving".
Which brings me to another point, doctors, and other health professionals (including some midwives and CYH nurses) just haven't got the current relevant information on breastfeeding. Often their initial training doesn't cover much breastfeeding information, and often their skills are not up-dated regularly.
Breastfeeding can be very difficult for some women, and in these cases they need support. Not just from professionals but also from family and friends who understand the importance of breastfeeding - not just nutrientionally, but also emotionally and for the bonding process. I have often heard that partners seeing their wives in distress or pain through breastfeeding want to offer a "solution" eg ABM - and they are being helpful and supportive in their own way, but a man can't fully understand the desire to feed their off-spring, and what it does to a mother who feels 'failure' over weaning from the breast.
by the way, i went on to feed my son for 23 months, and weaned recently due to pregnancy and because i was finding it 'too much'.
Apologies if most of all this has already been said - i haven't had time to read all the responses.
Good luck tomorrow Kelly! What you are doing is so so so so so important!! The government DO need to recognise the benefits of mothers caring for their children in the best possible ways in order to create a generation of productive and emotionally well-balanced people. Not to mention the benefits for the health system (healthier children and adults).

In my case, I was on medication that could have been harmful to baby if passed through breastmilk, so I could not breast feed. I am sure I am not alone in this.

I know another lady who was sexually abused as a child and found breastfeeding v traumatic as a result and could not do it. I was reading that about one in three girls will be victims of child sexual assult. The difficult thing is that if something like that has happened and as a result you can't breastfeed, its not something you want to tell people openly, so this poor woman found herself being judged for not breastfeeding and not being open as to why.

Hope this helps

Hi,

I put lack of education as my first choice but as some other mums said they are all connected. I had a wonderful 'textbook' breastfeeding experience (until she was 11mths) with my daughter and fed her until 21mths although from 11mths I started experiencing problems with my 'let down' reflex because of the stress of moving to a very hot rural town with no family/friends support. Unfortunately this tainted the whole breastfeeding experience. through this experience I at least had some understanding of the role that stress and lack of support has when you are trying to establish breastfeeding in the early days and for me, maintenance in the later stages. There was no ABA in the town I lived in and I just struggled on in a state of anxiety until I stopped breastfeeding 10mths later.

Education before you have the baby would be a good start to tell you about all your options eg how to breastfeed, attachment, problems you can have, services available, how to pick a good LC and also counselling services because it is an emotional investiment for ourselves as well as a physical one. And when you think about it, if you don't know what you are doing you get stressed and negative comments freak you out then supportive counselling is something lots of mums would probably benefit from.

I don't understand why women are discharged before breastfeeding is established, often without followup. follow up should be mandatory for I think at least the first 6 weeks.

Women need to know that it is good to keep breast feeding as long as possible. I breastfed the longest out of my group of friends and most started weaning at 6mths.

I also think for those women who can't continue to breastfeed for whatever reason need to be told thats okay and that they did their best and understand completely the reason's why they stopped. I wonder if some women are fully informed, lots of my friends said 'my milk supply was low' because they could 'feel' the milk wasn't there. Often their milk supply was fine but it was just changes in their breasts as the engorgement finally settled down. Once again, lack of education.

Education and help should really be ongoing for all stages of breastfeeding.

Thats my say anyway,

Mich

I think that there is a real need for more information and support on breast feeding. In hospital you get so many different bits of information, it is so confusing. I breast feed my first daughter quite successfully, until she was 14 months old, (she is now 3) I am now feeding her sister, who is 6 months. Although I had no real problems I didn't have any real support, most of my friends who had babies bottle fed and were a little anti breast feeding, I think mainly because they didn't have success. It can be really difficult in those first few weeks and I think not having support is why so many women give up, its also a very lonely job in the wee hours of the morning. If it wasn't for my stubbornness I'm sure I would have given up also. It is a beautiful experience for both you and your baby and a wonderful way to bond with her. I suffered post natal depression with my first daughter, I truly believe this special time with my Zoe was what got me through to the other side. I have nothing against those who chose to bottle feed it was just what I decided to do.
http://bf.lilypie.com/OcRTp10/.png

I found that the midwives just didn't have the time to have one-on-one time with me to ensure that I was BF properly. The last night I was in hospital I was looking for a midwife to help me and they were all in delivery and they had a staff member from a different ward looking after the desk!!!

I believe to overcome any BF issues early on you need the education and support and in my experience I was definately lacking the support. Even when I got home I was told to ring the community nurse regarding a visit. They rang me back when my son was 4 months old to book in the visit! By this time I had given up with the BF and a screaming son and taken up the bottle. I didn't need them 4 months down the track, I needed them straight away.

I voted lack of education, but think alot of the other options are important as well. I think it would have been useful to have more specific education about bf in the prenatal classes. I actually did do a bf class before my baby arrived but all they talked about was how to attach the baby, they didn't even brush upon any of the problems you may encounter and how to recognise them, such as mastitis (which I ended up with! not fun at all!), nipple thrush, cracked nipples, attachment problems and what to do if you encounter problems, the list could go on!
I also think it would be great that as part of your postnatal care that you have a visit to a LC once a week, luckily the hospital I went to has an outpatient program for patients to visit the LC once they leave the hospital, but it would be great if this was enforced more!
I've also found that the advice I've been getting is conflicting, everyone seems to have a different idea!

Family and community attitudes is a huge one for me

Still BFing my 12.5 month old and talk about ppls attitudes towards me (like Im doing something WRONG?!?!?!?!) and my family (who think she should be weaned now so she can spend large amounts of time with them without the tie to me).

I generally dont tell ppl that i am still BFing unless they are close friends. The comments from ppl really annoy me alot....

the biggest problem i have had is the lack of information i have to search to much to get help when i am having problems.
the other problem is the lack of facility to breast feed my baby. i went with a friend to a mothers day lunch at a club and they had no wear for us to bf our babies except a disabled toilet!!!! we ended up around a corner on the floor across from a bar

Hi,

I hope I'm not too late to send this in so I thought I'd give you my ideas.

Having now fullybreastfed 3 children and now another baby having arrived. I've been priviliged that I can breastfeed with success. I know there are other women out there that find it difficult and yes the first 3 weeks it is. I have found it to be painful and you wonder if it will get better but it does, just stick it out. It's easy to comp feed and I see others doing it who are first time mums. This will help decrease your milk supply by doing this. If your baby is feeding frequently, he's trying to get your milk production up and running and obviously is hungry or going through a growth spurt, I know mine is.

Once you get through the first couple of months it does get easier. Keep in mind that each child is different and some will sleep through, some won't and you will either be feeding through the night for ages or not. Mine varied. Currently I'm up twice an night, sometimes for 20 mins sometimes for 1 - 2 hours at a time at 5 weeks old. Some nights this will change and he only feeds once, which leaves me with very full breasts, but he makes up for it during the day.

I breastfed my first child for 18months, second 2 years and third (once or twice a day finished at 3). Never dream't that I would feed for that long but it did help my kids immunity against all sorts of bugs. I did feed the 3rd for the longest time as we moved over to China to live for a while. I wanted to give her the best and didn't know what it would be like over there.

Here's hoping this will help anyone out there. If you have any questions feel free to ask away. I'm not a guru but have had plenty of experience in all manners of ouchy breastfeeding and then the easy part of it too.

Heath64

i really wish i had tried harder to bf. (read earlier post on my story). but there really does need more info on bf and how to overcome problems. also lcs should be covered by medicare. most of us can't afford an lc but feel they needed one. one mum mentioned that formula should be prescription only. not fair. if its late at night and if u were desperate, in a hell of a lot of pain with a hungry baby, would u be ok to wait at a doctor's office or emergency room for a prescription and then have to find an open chemist or wait till morning? its not fair. we should be supporting eachother, not going around and saying formula is bad and artificial. yes its not breastmilk but it does provide nourishment when u can't. continuity of care and education are so important. but we still need to support those who can't bf. i had huge guilt. i felt like i failed. half the mums in my mum's group formula feed and we don't see it any different to bf. one bub had horrendous reflux, another was lactose intolerant and after 6 kinds of formula was put on soy formula and is doing better. the other ff mums had various supply and damage problems. if the availability of formula was taken away, it makes it harder on those who have no choice. i'm 21 this year. my baby is 4 months old. i so wanted to breast feed and if i had continuity of care and more education i reckon i would still be bf. sure we all get those books when we see the doc or midwife during the pregnancy but i had bad attachment. i followed those books so well. when the midwife actually helped me stick my daughter on, then i felt i got it right. but then i got damaged (after they healed during a few days of expressing (didn't get enough milk anyway, still had to supplement) the damage came back) and had letdown issues and when i was getting my supply back, she refused it and was happy on the bottle. i kept trying. i expressed. 40ml in 3 days is not enough. if i had continuity of care i would have had meds to increase supply and someone to help. not the case. so we need to stop making ff mums feel bad and tell them what they need to hear. they aren't failures. they didn't take to easy way out (formula is costly and washing and sterilising, and warming it up is a pain in the a**). they just found another way to feed their babies rather than push on with pain, and putting their babies health at risk. but on the other hand, those that never tried to bf or never asked for help are the ones that make the rest of us feel so bad and get judged way too quickly.
sorry for another long post, this is a very emotional issue.

Just a quick note to Catherine (and anyone else), sounds like you have had it tough and you are experiencing a fair bit of grief and guilt over not BFing. If you are still feeling this way, i would urge you to contact the Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) on their helpline. These are the numbers:

BREASTFEEDING HELPLINES
ACT/Southern New South Wales (02) 6258 8928
New South Wales (02) 8853 4999
Queensland (07) 3844 8977 or (07) 3844 8166
Townsville (07) 4723 5566
Cairns (07) 4058 0007
Toowoomba (07) 4639 2401
South Australia and NT (08) 8411 0050
Northern Territory counsellor contact line (08) 8411 0301
Tasmania (03) 6223 2609
Tasmania - North (03) 6331 2799
Victoria (03) 9885 0653
Western Australia (08) 9340 1200

You won't ever be told what to do by a counsellor or made to feel guilty or pressured in any way, i can assure you of that. At 17 weeks it might not be too late to reattach your baby to the breast. Some mums have found that they can go on to have a successful breastfeeding relationship even after months of not feeding. And if that is not what you want, then you may still find it helpful to talk through your feelings about your guilt. You might find it is a way to "let go", or to seek advice and contacts for next time around. Contacting the helpline is free to everyone.

Hi,

I think this is a very popular thread! the email from BB told me who the 1st post I missed was from but I can't find it coz its been so busy in here. maybe we should have threads dedicated to this in age groups or state groups? just a suggestion.