Why cant some women breastfeed?

[mbear]

Im not being ignorant, i know some women cannot b/f not only for personal reasons (going back to work, involving DH etc, etc) but for medical reasons too - what are these???

. I suppose i could google reasons why, but i would rather hear from you ladies...
i got into a heated discussion with DH MIL about breastfeeding. SHe claimed she simply couldnt - when i asked why, she said she had no milk.....
Do all birthing women have the potential to b/f ??? Do all pregnant woman produce colostrum? Why didnt she have any milk ? could it have been latching probs etc.....

I have b/f both my children to 8 mths and 12 mths respectively, and i intend to do the same for #3. Im intriged, that 'i didnt have any milk 'was her answer............... when i asked why, she said there wasnt any......WHY???

[Trillian]

I suppose there could be many reasons why a woman produces no milk at all, and it does happen. A friend of mine BF her first two babies and had her 3rd via induction 2wks early due to pre eclampsia and she produced no milk at all. Not sure if she still had colostrum - I am assuming she did, but I guess the stress of an early delivery (albiet only two weeks) just did something so her body didn't produce any. She went on to BF her 4th bub too with no worries though.

As for your MIL, maybe she doesn't mean she literally had no milk but jsut the assumption she didn't?

[BellyBelly]

My dh was born at 7 months gestation (his mum had a bad fall) and never produced any milk. I think I read somewhere that around 95% of women can physically breastfeed, so the number is very high.

[shellbell3]

My mum couldn't breastfeed with all 4 of us, each time she tried she had the problem with supply and so switched to FF. When she had me she said I was actually losing weight. I'm not sure why it happens, maybe it has to do with the hormones, maybe in some there isn't enough to produce a good supply?

[{sarah}]

I think it is possible for a woman to have no milk, after all it happened to me!

I was in active labour for roughly 20 hours (was having contractions for 36 non stop) and in third stage labour for 6 hours that we know of, it may have been longer. I ended up having a caesarean at 1.30 in the morning. So physically I had gone from Thursday through to Sunday afternoon with about 3 hours sleep total, had multiple internals, contractions non stop & finally major abdominal surgery.

By the time Zander was 3 days old he was majorly dehydrated. No matter what we did nothing worked, feeding literally around the clock was not helping him. For the next two weeks he was formula fed whilst I tried desperately to breastfeed him & express milk for him, but there was just nothing there. Well, I say nothing but that's inaccurate, there was something, just not enough to sustain a life in any way.

A male midwife (the only one that even mentioned anything) ended up telling me that my body had gone into shock so was refusing to produce milk. Several midwives commented that with so many internals I looked as though I had given birth to twins - one vaginally & one by c/s. So after the stress of a long labour & then a c/s my body just wasn't coping.

[AnyDream]

Mbear, I think the reason a lot of our mother's generation say they 'couldn't breastfeed' was because they were given the wrong information - the idea of feeding your baby to a four-hourly routine was enough to kill anyone's supply before it was established! Both my DH and myself (both born in 1971) have our baby books (sponsored by Nestle) which waxes lyrical about how to prepare formula and when to start solids but NO info at all about breastfeeding. As my mum says, she would've tried harder if they knew then what they know now about the benefits...!

Sorry, not really the info you're after, I know a lot of women struggle with things like flat nipples and ongoing pain (attachment issues?). I personally was lucky enough to spend several hours with a good lactation consultant on day 2 and day 3 of DD's life which literally saved the lactation (and simultaneously offered me hope and gave me the confidence to keep trying). I'm not sure that every woman gets that level of info and support when she needs it (the other midwives were certainly useless in that regard)!!

[anney]

mbear,
my cousin had 5 babies and the same thing happened with each, she did not produce enough milk or perhaps enough nourishing milk to satisfy them. She tried feeding them all but at about 3 or 4 months with each of them she had to give up as their weight decreased. she almost had to be forced to give up as she was so determined to do it but they were very skinny. once on formula they thrived. So I guess you wouldn't say that she could not produce milk as they seemed to be OK for a while although never put on heaps of weight. exact same thing happened with 5 children so I guess it was just something about her.

[mbear]

So the tools are there for every woman, its just whether our hormones produce enuf to (like Sarah said) sustain a life?

I think your right MD (ummmm....yet again my dear ) about my MIL and the time period she did have babies (early 70's)......she defn isnt educated about it all....

[Liz]

Yeah, my mum had all the 'bad' advice back then too. Feed 4hrly and only for 10 minutes. OMG.. no wonder she ran out of milk.

I think weight gain is a very deceptive means to judge how much your baby is getting. Some babies just don't put on a lot of weight, and most breastfed babies by NO means put on weight like FF babies, and unfortunately breastfed babies are compared to FF, people like to see chubby babies, and the charts used are based on FF babies too. I stopped getting Tallon weighed a long time ago. I knew he was getting enough coz of all the nappies I was changing!

I think the body going into shock is a very valid reason. Sometimes the stress of lack of support or problems adds to the lack of letdown etc, and it can become a vicious cycle, the less you make, the more stressed you get, so the less you make.

Like Kelly said, 95% of women can physically breastfeed, it's more likely to be external factors these days (like lack of support & info) that would contribute to women thinking they're part of the 5% that couldn't feed.

[Ca Plane Pour Moi]

Without wanting to cause controversy, because this is anecdotal and for my mother's family only, we've found that the smaller the breasts pre-baby, the better the breastfeeding. Could be because the larger-chested women were more keen to give up, I don't know, but DS does better on BF than BF and FF combined, whereas his second cousin didn't gain weight even with two-hourly BFs - I have a small chest, my cousin a large one. Maybe fat deposits have something to do with how easy the baby finds it to get the milk?

Sarah, I was in active labour for 33 hours, pushing for 6, nearly ended up with a section... I had problems with DS's weight loss and feeding too, he ended up re-admitted to hospital and being tube-fed. No-one told me that the drugs they were pushing affect breastfeeding too, plus DS's first feed was the day after he was born, no-one wanted to help me give him his first feed... sorry, I'm waffling a bit but I am thinking that if I weren't so stubborn about BFing and had a fantastic team in the SCBU who encouraged me to BF and express then I wonder if I'd be BFing now. Not saying that you weren't committed to BFing, your labour/birth sounds more traumatic than mine too, but I am starting to wonder about the early stage of our feeding and what went so horribly wrong for that first week or so.

[AnyDream]

I am starting to wonder about the early stage of our feeding and what went so horribly wrong for that first week or so.

I hear you, Ryn. Can I say that the lactation consultant who helped me wasn't actually on the mat ward staff, it was only because I had met her three weeks earlier (she filled in at the last moment for our antenatal info class) that I even knew to ask for her. She very kindly came down and spent time with me after her shift on the pediatric ward finished!! The actual mat ward had no resources for me at all.

[Rouge]

Is there any type of medication or hormonal replacement that can help bring milk in? I know I was given something to help with my milk but I can't remember what it was called. I'm just thinking if women can breastfeed adpoted children there must be something we can do for mothers who want to breastfeed their own babies but have milk supply issues.

I know taking raspberry leaf can help with milk supply as well as nipple stimulation/hand expressing during pregnancy (I read it was actually advised for those women with GD & PCOS).

*hugs*
Cailin

[paradise lost]

I think Fenugreek (sp.) can help, and most herbalists can provide a tea which will assist in bringing milk on. THey certainly have a Pill to STOP breastmilk (i know older ladies (in their 50's now) who were given this, after delivery, and not even told what it WAS! Awful.

The WHO says around 98% of women CAN BF and around 95% should (statistically, taking into account circumstances and failure to thrive etc.) In the developing world babies often die of disease but very rarely does a baby die simply because a mother doesn't have enough milk, unless the mother is having to feed several children (in times of famine for instance a mother may be feeding her baby, her toddler AND her small child, and not eating at all well herself).

The only women i know who wanted to feed and didn't have enough milk had difficult deliveries and little support. One had an emergency c-section and a very stressful birth. Baby got Strep B and had to go to SCBU and then she was let out of hospital and on discharge given a "so your baby has strep B" leaflet which said on the front x% of babies with Strep B will die (i think 1%, not sure) which threw her into total panic and no-one explained anything to her, comforted her or tried to help her feed. She wanted to BF but her family, seeing she was struggling, said "it's ok, you tried" and had her switch to formula. They said these things because they love her, and wanted her to have an easier time. THe other woman had her baby at 31 weeks and her milk did come in but whenever she was round the baby (she got PND) there was no let-down. SHe said it got to the stage where she was going home and pumping off 700-800mls a time but sitting in SCBU in agony, engorged practically solid with DD in her arms and nothing would happen. SHe pumped and fed until DD came off the tube and then switched to FF.

[Eugenia]

There are many valid reasons why women can't physically or psychologically breastfeed but a lot of times nowadays women get inaccurately told they haven't got enough milk when in fact they do.

When DD was born she was a sleepy baby. For almost 5 days she only fed every 4 to 5 hours. I kept asking the midwives if that was normal and what I should do but none of them helped. My milk came in but production wasn't stimulated because she was feeding infrequently and wasn't attaching properly. When I sought help an LC told me I had to supplement with formula and that my breasts were "the wrong shape" to make much milk. Thankfully she was wrong and DD was exclusively breastfed for 6 months and is still being breastfed now. I don't blame any woman who gives up breastfeeding because she was told by a supposed professional that she didn't have enough milk. I thnk it really is a lack of knowledge and education by those who are supposed to help us that makes many erroneously think they can't bf no matter how much they want to.

BTW I was prescribed something, I forget the name of it sorry, by my GP that increased my milk production, in just five days I was bursting! I have also taken fenugreek occasionally when DD has been having a growth spurt and feeding more often. I don't know if it helped but it didn't do us any harm.

[smylie]

In the developing world babies often die of disease but very rarely does a baby die simply because a mother doesn't have enough milk, unless the mother is having to feed several children (in times of famine for instance a mother may be feeding her baby, her toddler AND her small child, and not eating at all well herself).

omigosh I had NEVER thought about breastfeeding that way! In developing countries there is no coles to nip down to to buy the formula so they HAVE to breastfeed it is normal and they probably do it while they have water on their head and are picking rice or whateva..... I am surprised I havent thought of this as this was how I was dealing with being pregnant... if they can do it in the jungle I can do it......

[Roryrory]

A GF of mine (and fellow BB-er) is a wonderful milk producer - I know that even up to when her DS was 6 months old she would spout milk fountains everywhere when he pulled off suddenly. Me - I have enough milk. Period, that's it. I didn't have under supply issues (Flynn gained weight like a trooper) but equally NEVER leaked, never felt any great tingling let down, and never was a great producer of EBM. I fed to 9 months when I got pg with Little One and almost overnight the milk disappeared (I think with better info/different circumstances I could have kept going, but that's a different story).

And another thing - my GF I think had a really hard time initially BF - she described it as a "toe curling experience" Whereas for me it was really easy, so easy it is almost embarasing!!

So I think that just as there was a huge variation in two successfully BF mums there would have to just be natural variation with some women whose bodies just don't produce milk, and for reasons totally aside from education, lack of support and personal views.

ETA Smylie, LOL at "if they can do it in the jungle I can do it" - I used to say to Flynn "C'mon cave baby, if we were living in prehistoric times you'd have no choice, get on it the job of sucking, mate!" LOL

[Phoenix]

I think there are some valid reasons why a mother cannot breastfeed. There are some medications to sustain life that cannot be mixed with breastfeeding such as undergoing chemo or radiotherapy, some phsycho type drugs also. There are severe cases inverted nipples, cleft palettes etc that make BF almost too difficult to contemplate (but in some cases can still be done or at least epxressing). there are some medical conditions that affect milk production and quiet often drugs used when birthing have a devestating affect on BF initiation. I think there is also noted to be a declining BF rate in IVF mums (perhaps something to do with the same hormones that help fall pregnant- not sure)
But in the end I think its misinformation that causes many mothers to wean early. Many mothers are told they need to wean to take antidepressants for PND but aren't encouraged to keep feeding and take BF friendly drugs.
The whole weight gain thing I feel has been a major factor in BF babies being weaned to formula. If I didn't have very pro BF CHN I am sure my kids would have been made to go onto formula. Bring on the new WHO charts ASAP!!!!
I had a very informative heart to heart with my mother this weekend. We discussed how she fed me. I was very proud that she fed me until I was 8 mths old (found out she was pregnant and was told to wean) and my next 2 brothers for 6 mths. With my youngest brother who is 10 yrs younger then me she couldn't BF she says because of stress. Knowing what she went through I can completely understand. My younger brother was found to be allergic/intolerant(grew out of it??) to cows milk and the Dr commented that all her children were, but us older 3 kids didn't show because of the BF even though we went straight onto cows milk (straight out of the cow most times LOL!!)
I went through hell to BF my eldest (blocked ducts mastitis breast abcess and surgery) and after that I used to get really mad inside that women were formula feeding for what I thought were really petty reasons. Glad to say I no longer think that way, instead whenever I see a lady bottle feeding I think "What happened to that women that meant she couldn't BF"
Theres some info on the ABA site about galactagogues (sorry can't spell) that help with milk production.

[sirhokko]

Hi there,

There aren't many reasons that a woman can't breast feed. Physically it's no prolactin which happens in a tiny number of people mainly with an acute thyroid problem. Emotionally milk is delayed when the hormones aren't triggered like with a c/s which means the baby continuously suckles to get the physiology working.

There aren't any other real reasons that breast feeding is impossible. There is no such thing as not enough milk. It's usually an incorrect attachment which means the baby isn't stimulating the normal process to work properly. Or due to tiredness and difficultly, putting the baby on the breast becomes very hard. Normal feeding pattern is 8 to 18 feeds per day. Feeding 18 times feels like you haven't got enough milk when actually it's quite normal.

Perterm birth doesn't stop you from going through exactly the same physiology as term birth, however you may have to express and feed your baby through a tube if they are too small to suck. Your body still produces enough milk for your baby.

Nobody has the wrong shaped breast or bad nipples just about everyone can feed their baby. The most important thing is to believe that you can do it. Help and support are life lines but at the end of it there is your baby and there are your breasts. It can be done with no input. Of course it's great to get help.

Lisa Barrett
midwife