By Louise Flanagan
The first week of August marked World Breastfeeding week, a global campaign to raise awareness and promote the benefits of breastfeeding.
Alas, my own breastfeeding experience was short-lived. I’m glad I tried but overall, I found it hard and the pull of the bottle was too much for me to resist. (Not a great way to start a breastfeeding article, eh?!) Well, I think it’s important to establish that it’s not for everyone and that is to be respected. It’s a natural process though, and it should definitely be more normalised in society.
I asked two friends for some solid advice for this column as they have years of breastfeeding experience between them. So, here are their pearls of breastfeeding wisdom:
“It can be a wonderful, easier and potentially free way to feed your child (no sterilising, no carting umpteen bottles around), but it’s not without challenges. If you are doing the legwork with feeding, make sure your partner / support network does the heavy lifting with everything else. Their help will be crucial for successful breastfeeding.
“Make your peace with sitting around a lot while chaos may ensue around you; you are doing the best thing with your time right now – the laundry can wait.
“Join a support group in your area if possible and seek help if anything doesn’t feel right. Skin to skin time really helps at the beginning. Once established, feel free to mix it up with bottle feeding to free your time a little. Muslin cloths and stretchy clothes are very handy for easier feeding.
“Feel free to be rude – when the in-laws are around, go to another room if that will mean you are more relaxed. Equally anyone’s discomfort is their own, not yours, and feeding in public places does feel easier over time. Stop breastfeeding when it suits you and your child – you will know best and you don’t need to listen to opinions on the matter.”
The other friend added; “You need to surround yourself with supportive people, as contrary to lots of narratives, breastfeeding mums also get judged by non breastfeeding mums for their choices. Breastfeeding takes time to establish. Ask for help with latch in the hospital. The midwives have seen it all so don’t be shy.
“Breastfeeding won’t work until you are relaxed; feel safe, drink lots of water and line up some good bingeable telly for the cluster feeds and growth spurts.
“The best advice I got for cracked nipples is to express milk on them and let them air – lotions and potions often make the nipples too soft and cause problems for feeding. Also, learn to feed lying down, the sooner the better!”
This experienced breastfeeding mum also had some advice for friends and family of a new breastfeeding mum: “Don’t ask if you should leave the room once they start readying themselves for a feed in your company; if they start, take it as a sign that they are happy to feed in front of you.
“Don’t make it weird – It’s not weird. Don’t ask a breastfeeding mum if they need to top up with formula; don’t mention formula at all. Respect and embrace the decision you see before you.
“Also, bottle fed babies do not sleep better than breastfed babies. This is a fact, so don’t suggest a bottle will solve the problem if they’re unsettled.
“To the breastfeeding mama, overall, just take your time, enjoy the snuggles and be kind to yourself.”
Louise Flanagan is an admin of Letterkenny Babies facebook page and the author of the children’s book series, Dragonterra and Dream Beasts. www.dragonterra.ie Her Parenting column features every Thursday in the Donegal News.