Positive About Breastfeeding - Backstage

Support! It is the the most vital ingredient in the recipe for successful breastfeeding. Surround yourself with people who believe in breastfeeding. Get help when you need it. Find the breastfeeding cafes near your home, and go to them before your baby is born. Seek out other breastfeeding mums and ask for advice. The more you know, the more successful you will be.

When B was born, my support consisted of my mum, my best friend and the Hubby. But with the issues I had, they weren't enough. The paediatricians and nurses at the hospital were unsupportive, unhelpful and poorly educated in breastfeeding. I didn't have the confidence I needed as a first time mum. I knew what I wanted, but I got scared and gave into pressure. My breastfeeding journey didn't have a good start. By the time M came along, my circle of support had grown enormously. I was part of the local Attachment Parenting group; I had more breastfeeding friends; support at the hospital had improved; and being part of several breastfeeding groups on Facebook connected me with a huge number of breastfeeding mums. I could find answers, advice and encouragement in so many places, at any time of the day or night. The journey with M was so much better because of those helping me along.

Every new mother should be able to feed her baby the way she wants to, after receiving accurate, evidence based information on infant feeding. They should never be told to top up with formula without first having seen an IBCLC. IBCLCs should be on staff at every maternity ward. There should be breastmilk banks at every hospital so that every baby that needs supplementation can have access to human milk. The government should be channelling money into breastfeeding education for health care providers and ensuring schoolchildren are taught about it during science and PSHE lessons. The NHS should be ensuring that all their staff are up to date on breastfeeding training, and GPs and Health Visitors should be reminded that facts are to beshared, rather than their outdated opinions. We need better support for breastfeeding, and it needs to be everywhere. With a bit of investment, the NHS could save a huge amount of money because of fewer serious childhood illnesses and cancers, and less obesity and diabetes due to more babies being breastfed beyond the first few weeks of life.

Support breeds support. Women who have been helped and encouraged to achieve their breastfeeding goals are able to go on to support and help others. From my own experiences and research, I could name at least 10 women I have been able to help in various ways to succeed in breastfeeding their babies. But I would never have been able to do that if it wasn't for the support I first received in the early days of breastfeeding B. So, thank you to my mum - an LLL counsellor, who I saw advising women when I was a child, and who encouraged me, prayed for me, and reminded me that I was a breastfeeding mum, despite my low supply. Thank you to my Husband, who overcame his initial fears and became my greatest supporter, even becoming a bit of a breastfeeding cheerleader himself. (You'll find him blogging at Dad Thoughts.) And thank you to my best friend, who listened to my tears, and texted me uplifting words, and reassured me that all would be well. You carried me until I was able to feed on my own two feet.

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The Importance of Breastfeeding Support

If it wasn't for the support I received from my mum, the hubby, my best friend, and the Infant Feeding Coordinator at the hospital, my breastfeeding journey with B would have been very different. But I also firmly believe that it is down to the official complaint that we made regarding our treatment by nurses and paediatricians at the hospital then, that our experience with M was quite different. The changes we said needed to be made had been put into place, and so we discovered that there was now an On-Call Infant Feeding Team; several people trained to identify and separate tongue-ties; and the Infant Feeding Coordinator was now responsible for providing breastfeeding training for paediatricians. 

The experience wasn't perfect. There were some new paediatricians who had managed to slip through the training net, informing me that I had to feed M for 10 minutes every 3 hours! I had the knowledge and confidence this time around to challenge them and point out that this went against their own infant feeding policy. But we were able to get the Infant Feeding Coordinator to see us very quickly, and she was brilliant. Overall, despite having to be in the hospital to deal with M's jaundice, we had a much more positive time than with B, and we were out much quicker too. 

Keep Britain Breastfeeding 2013: The Importance of Breastfeeding Support

Despite 81% of women in the UK initiating breastfeeding, by 6-8 weeks after birth only 45% of those continue to breastfeed, and only 17% are exclusively breastfeeding at 3 months post-partum.¹ Clearly women are meeting supposedly insurmountable obstacles to continuing to breastfeed. An NCT spokeswoman, quoted in this article, revealed that 90% of women who stopped, didn't want to.

I did a brief survey of my Facebook friends. Of those who responded, the majority of those who stopped breastfeeding did so because of the lack of support they were given. Some stopped because they had been fed myths about breastfeeding and, without proper support around them, they doubted their bodies' abilities to nourish their babies. And those who continued did so because of the support they seemingly had to hunt down, and through sheer stubbornheadedness. Most of this support came in the form of volunteers and peer supporters, not from midwives and health visitors! And also from husbands, family and friends.

Top Breastfeeding Tips For Dads: Keep Britain Breastfeeding 2013

Today, a guest post from my husband, Chris, who is my biggest breastfeeding supporter! He wrote a post for the Scavenger Hunt last year too, which you can find here.

When our first daughter was born, we discovered things weren't quite right in the feeding department.

B's weight dropped quite a bit in the first few days and we were checked into the hospital as her sodium levels were low.

After 4 days of wasted time, we got discharged and B was diagnosed with tongue tie (http://milkmatters.org.uk/2011/04/15/hidden-cause-of-feeding-problems-however-you-feed-your-baby/) and had it snipped.

We also discovered that my wife had IGT (insufficient glandular tissue) which meant that she couldn't produce enough milk.

So, we had to supplement with formula milk.

In summary, I've experienced breast feeding and formula feeding; both the positives and the negatives.

So, because of my experience, here are some top tips and some how-tos that I wish I had known before I started my journey into the world of infant feeding...

How Dads Can Support Breastfeeding - Keep Britain Breastfeeding 3

This is the 3rd post as part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt in the run up to National Breastfeeding Week 2012. This week's theme is support, so I asked one of my greatest supporters to guest post. So, without further ado, I hand over to my husband, Chris, who will spill the beans on ways to support your partner in establishing breastfeeding:

I've been asked to do a guest post as part of the Keep Britain Breastfeeding Scavenger Hunt. I'm a father of one darling daughter, B, (DD in the mummy online speak) and have been in the profession for nearly 10 months and wow, what an amazing time it's been. My wife, Laura, and I had been married for 1 and a half years before B came along which has also been an amazing time, with more fun times to come.

So...breastfeeding. During her pregnancy, Laura and I had been discussing how we were going to care for our baby and how we were going to feed her, which really helped flush out any issues that could have come up post-arrival. Laura had been breastfed until she was 2 years old and I was breastfed until I was I few weeks old. Laura's mum had lots of support from La Leche League. My mum didn't. Support is key in enabling a mum to establish breastfeeding.

There are so many techniques, books, strategies out there that people follow to bring up their child. Some more than others. But we decided that we would breastfeed B. Well, Laura would. And herein lies the reason for writing this guest post:

How can we support our partners to establish and continue breastfeeding?