Breastfeeding support after birth [Archive] - Bub Hub Pregnancy & Parenting Forum

meme

03-12-2006, 11:29

kirstenriley

03-12-2006, 11:44

To be honest i found the nurses in my hospital to be fairly uninterested, they were too busy and didnt make any secret of the fact. Luckily for me it was my 2nd child so i had a little bit of a clue. Perhaps if there was a lactation consultant on staff who could sit with the mum for an hour or so to talk and help through any probs, also i think the pre-birth info idea that meme suggested is a great idea too.

reAllytee

03-12-2006, 11:48

I agree with meme there needs to be more support & advice about it all while you are pg. Instead all we get is " you will be b/f wont you ? " once that gets answered they dont seem to mention it again unless you say you wont be b/f to which you get the " breast is best " stuff.
We all know breast is best there needs to be more info on how to etc.
I also think there needs to be a national standard because instead a new mum is inudated with all these different midwives & all their differing opinions & advice.
Some say co-sleep, some say dont, some say baby must be fed every X amount of hours, others say on demand feeding is the way to go, some say comp feed, some advise against it etc. I also dont think they concentrate enough on showing a new mum how to b/f & get the attachment right. I was lucky my attachment was perfect so that wasnt my drama but you hear & see so many horror stories of middies pushing & pulling babies & nipples it horrifies me !
I also think there needs to be support for those who end up unable to b/f due to various circumstances. For me i was advised to stop by a lc & two of my middies but i still felt horrible for doing so & when i did i felt like my support system left if that makes sense. It was as though i should know how to make bottles & look after bubs when i had no idea.
I think there needs to be more continued care again as meme said up to 6wks after bubs is born. I think this will help not just with b/f but also with pnd.

Duchessa

03-12-2006, 12:16

Good on you Becca!

I haven't got a lot to add except maybe making sure the support I had is given to everybody.

I joined the ABA before the twins were born and did a lot of research before they came, including going to a meeting with the local branch and a special prebirth interview with a lactation consultant. I was very well armed with information on how hard it can be so fortunately I wasn't discouraged when it was hard - twice as hard really with two babies to teach and learn from.

I had several midwife assisted feedings in hospital, including my first simultaneous feeding, to help me get my confidence up. I didn't get along with one of the midwives so requested a different one who was very helpful.

I had our local MCHN, who is the ABA lactation consultant, visit me in my home on two occasions as it took a long time for my bfing relationship to settle down with the two of them. I also went to a couple of meetings but found that it wasn't much help as nobody else had the same challenges I did with simultaneous feeding etc...

For the record I live in a rural area - 2 hours from the hospital where I gave birth, so the commitment of the ABA representatives is really to be admired.

Nickster

03-12-2006, 12:31

Although I read quite a few books on breastfeeding (about 5 I think) and attended an ABA session, and a hospital-run beginner breastfeeding session all while I was pregnant, I still had a horrible time getting attachment right in the early days.

The midwives in the hospital just didn't seem to really have the time or the inclination, to assist me. What I found to be an absolute life-saver for me was a visit to a private lactation consultant. I believe that each hospital has one of these on staff, but I never saw her. So, I think it would made a huge difference if a fully-trained-bells-and-whistles lactation consultant made an appointment as a matter of standard with each new mother in the hospital within 24 hours of giving birth. And if they could act as a liason between the mother and the ABA, providing brochures, leaflets, contact details, information on support such as the ABA forum on the internet, etc, would be particularly helpful.

I hope you are able to make a difference, becca!

lilpearl

03-12-2006, 12:56

I think that it is vital that lactation consultants and midwives, as well as maternal and child health nurses get far more education than they currently have. It took me two children and a lot of running around, seeing various people, and trying everything possible (including prescriptions drugs) to increase my supply before I was actually diagnosed with a condition where I simply do not have enough glandular tissue to produce any where near enough milk (and this is something that there is no cure for). The lactation consultant who finally diagnosed me (an expert in her field at the RPA in Sydney) was seeing two other women with the same condition in the same 24 hours as she saw me. She said it is certainly not as rare as 'they' have people believe. I was gutted that I couldn't breastfeed exclusively, and never would be able to...but also glad to finally have an answer and to know that I DID do everything I possibly could, that it wasn't my fault. There is a huge misconceptions held by many that breastfeeding is possible for every single woman, as long as she wants it enough, and tries hard enough. That is pure ignorance and a belief that is taken for granted by people who think that a bought or two of mastitis is the worst that can happen during a breastfeeding journey. More than anything, there needs to be a wide-spread knowledge of the fact that breastfeeding is not possible for every mother and every baby (just as vaginal birth is not posible for every mother and baby). Nature is not always perfect, that's what makes it perfect! I have a saying "Best is Best" meaning, whatever is best for a particular mother and baby is best for them. Breast is simply not best for every baby, not when they are going to die of dehydration and starvation! There needs to be a huge amount of support given to those mothers who cannot breastfeed, as I truly believe this will make for a much happier society. Can you imagine the PND brought about by the feelings of helplessness and guilt these women experience every day, every time they breastfeed or express and no milk comes forth, when they are recovering from birth and the midwives come to check whether their breasts are full and firm yet, and wonder why everyone else's breasts are aching with milk coming in, and theirs are still soft a week or two after their baby is born. I also believe that the more support given to mothers who cannot breastfeed; the more knowledge society has about true conditions that make a mother unable to breastfeed, the more women will have access to quality support, the more women will be diagnosed earlier, the more women will find out that they CAN breastfeed when these conditions are ruled out, and the more people WILL breastfeed, knowing there is top-quality support for ALL mothers out there. It is a disgrace that most breastfeeding councellors and lactation consultants turn a blind eye to these very real problems, offering no help, and no improvements to mothers, just saying over and over "oh, don't worry, it'll get better". Sometimes it just doesn't.

stellarella

03-12-2006, 12:58

I agree with a previous post...women need to be reached BEFORE the birth...

I think lactation consultants should be a part of antenatal care...

I also think women need to take more responsibity for educating themselves on the issue...I am all for women being provided with support and I DEFINATELY feel that supoort can make the world of difference...however im kind of sick of hearing about women who stopped breastfeeding and claim they it was because they didnt get support...when they didnt seek it out!!

But definately the antenatal thing....I know that breastfeeding was a big part of my birth classes at the BC and my midwife was a lactation consultant aswell....so i had wonderful support...however I also went out of my way to seek help from the ABA and did lots of reading myself...

shed

03-12-2006, 13:13

When my community midwife visited and I told her that I had prepared using lansinoh she said "oh we don't recommend mothers to use anything to prepare these days".

I felt like I had done something she didn't approve of. No wonder everyones getting cracked nipples, geezus.

So that was the last straw for me after the midwives at the hospital who I couldn't wait to get away from.

Part of the reason I only stayed one night is because I wanted to go home and breastfeed in private, WHEN I wanted to and without someone looking at me like a bug under a microscope. I didn't ask for help because we were doing great, but they poked their noses in anyway.

When we had to go back to hospy for bubby to go under the lights for jaundice they were trying to PUSH formula on to me. I had to be a bit of a b!tch in refusing it. I am still annoyed about that because they even had my DP doubting my ability to provide enough milk for my own baby. I had no doubts about my milk or my ability but I am annoyed at how I had to stand my ground so defiantly when I was such a new mother and my milk was just coming in. Anyone who was a bit more of a shrinking violet would have been bullied into it.

Sorry, ranting, but I am still angry about it.

My cousin had twins the other day and when I went to see them in the nursery when they were about 12 hours old the nurses had already convinced my cousin that they need to be comp fed.

I said nothing because I can't fight everyone's battles and it was up to her to do her own research, but it still p!sses me off.

03-12-2006, 13:25

I had the opposite experiences to these lovely ladies who have responded earlier.

I guess I am lucky, but the middies at my local hospital are all wonderful in relation to BF. Each of them sat down with me to help me attach properly and waited with me until bubba had a good rythmical suck going. They kept checking on me throughout each feed to make sure I was okay.

About 90% of the middies were Lactation consultants and were more than willing to sit down with you to help achieve confident BF. I remember one middie even sat with me for over an hour in the early hours of the morning because my bubba wouldn't attach properly.

Even with the subsequent children I have had there, they still sat with me to make sure I still "knew" what I was doing. They are truely great middies there!!!

CurlyG

03-12-2006, 13:39

I agree with what Meme said, there needs to be more focus on breastfeeding in the Ante-natal classes/aqppointments, etc. But even then, I did everything right to prepare - I read the books cover to cover, I attended workshops, I had DD on the breast within 10mins of her birth, etc. And yet I was still unable to successfully breastfeed because while in hospital I would ring the bell every time before a feed and get NO response, meanwhile my baby is crying with hunger.

And then when I asked about expressing to give my nipples a break, the expressing machine got dumped on my table and it was left for me to work out :no: I got NO help whatsoever because the midwives were too busy. They always had a patient load of 7 women + their babies...that's too much!

I was also told there was a lactation consultant, but because my baby was born Friday afternoon, there was no lactation consultant services over the weekend :eek: how ridiculous! So as a result of this neglectful care I ended up with horribly grazed and bleeding nipples because I kept trying and didn't know what I was doing wrong and in the end I went home early with my baby on the bottle :crying:

I'm still grieving for this loss and I know that ultimately it doesn't matter to DD as long as she's growing, etc. but it matters to ME. I'm so angry that I didn't get any support and then was made to feel guilty when I chose (pfft! Felt like I didn't have any choice) to bottlefeed. I wasn't even told how to deal with my boobs when my milk came in, so I just took heaps of hot showers and gave them rubs because that's what seemed to help - now I know that's the worst thing I could have done!

Sorry, I know you asked for specific suggestions but I still feel so angry/bitter/RAW from this experience because I feel like something was stolen from me :crying:

So yes, better ante-natal education/support, lactation consultant visit for EVERY woman trying to BF while in hospital, better midwife support - sit with a new mum for one of the early feeds for the ENTIRE feed (some of the midwives were so scornful when I asked for help or would offer unhelpful suggestions like "feed through the pain" BFing is not meant to make your toes curl!!!), and more follow-up services for when you go home.

Sorry about the vent, but as I said I'm still grieving for this.

Carly.

Seekrit

03-12-2006, 13:53

I think it is important to note that the midwives were too busy, midwives get a lot of shtick from people who say "they couldn't be bothered" or "they just whacked the baby on the boob and walked off" I had one midwife looking after 8 - 12 people (2 or 3 rooms) so I had to share her with women who could have had hard labours and needed help with doing everything, and women with c-sects who may have needed help showering, carrying baby, who knows.
So I don't think it's about educating midwives to sit beside all mums that need help - I think there needs to be a lactation consultant on every ward (at least!). But as if the goverment is going to pay for it.

So, yeah. heh, that's my little bit. :)

reAllytee

03-12-2006, 15:02

Seek while i agree that there needs to be lc on every ward available i think that may be a hard task because for me i had a great lc who helped me & one great midwife who being on the nite shift was able to help me more than normal ( i like you clung to the one i found ).
Problems arose when all the other do-gooding middies walked through of a day trying to tell me what i was doing was wrong or the likes. Overall i didnt have too many dramas but you here of many dramas caused this way.
So really one woman running round like a headless chook could easily be left for those with serious problems if all the middies were obviously better staffed for one but also if they had better training that was standard. That way there isnt all that confusion !

Ana Gram

03-12-2006, 15:42

All midwifes should be banned from pinching, poking, proding or shoving anything within the breast area.

Seekrit

03-12-2006, 15:55

All midwifes should be banned from pinching, poking, proding or shoving anything within the breast area.

I admit that some man-handle, but they don't have the time to sit down beside you for the time it may take... and baby has to eat...

westerner

03-12-2006, 16:24

All midwifes should be banned from pinching, poking, proding or shoving anything within the breast area.

I had previously had my legs in the air with my bits on show to the world... :o

A little bit of a poke or grab of my boozies was the least of my worries... It was helping in the long run to feed my bub at thats all that mattered... ;)

Ana Gram

03-12-2006, 16:34

Just being honest. I hated this when they did it to me which in turn was part of why I hated breastfeeding, which in turn again was part of why I stopped at 6 weeks.

It doesn't matter if it is a means to an end because baby has to eat. Inflicting pain is not a great way of going about it.

westerner

03-12-2006, 16:38

I can totally understand how one might feel chellegoth.. everyone feels differently and reacts differently by various things..

I was simply giving it from my perspective that after giving birth and all that goes along with it the whole boozie touching scenario was the least of my worries...

Its awful that they inflicted pain though :shame: thats not on..

Elmopalooza

03-12-2006, 17:10

I had absolutely NO support from any of the midwives! They were all too busy and just assumed that i would figure it out for myself... add that stress to PND and what do ya know!? I stopped Breastfeeding after only 3 weeks...

I am determined to give it a go properly this time... I have already looked into a lactation consultant too, just in case. ;)

~Emmylou~

03-12-2006, 20:11

There needs to be an acknowledgement that not all women and not all babies take to breastfeeding like ducks to water. You can have all the help in the world and still have problems.

As someone else has said already the education needs to start BEFORE the birth and it needs to cover comprehensively and in detail what the possible problems are and what you should do about them.

This assumption that breastfeeding should and does just "come naturally" is not doing the cause any favours because the reality for many women is very very different. Instead of denying or ignoring that, FGS confront it and DO something about it.

Ok off my soapbox now LOL.

Shanaynay

03-12-2006, 20:15

misskittyfantastico

03-12-2006, 20:19

I had very little assistance with BFing once bub was born - the middies were run off there feet. I had one older midwife look at my boobs and my chart and say "Oh you're a country girl, you'll be right - and with those nipples you can't fail"

There was no continuity between different middies.

I totally agree there needs to be more pre-natal education.

*Chels*

03-12-2006, 20:23

HI
I had Riley in NZ and had the same nidwife thorughout my preg and birth.She was really great.I didnt really think about BF much during preg,and Riley attached straight away.
But I did have trouble with attachment and wondering if I was doing it right.
Luckily I stayed in a great hospital that let me stay until I felt comfortable with breastfeeding.
I got mastitis the day I left hospy and my middie came round and gave me antiboitics and advice and showed me positions to help drain the breast.
Without all that support,I dont know where I would be.
Women need SUPPORTIVE,HELPFUL,CARING middies to help them thru the first few days and beyond.Its great to research breastfeeding before birth but its the hands on experience taht I think you benefit from the most

Duchessa

03-12-2006, 21:01

I have to say the middies who were willing to poke and prod my breasts, getting them into an optimal shape for attachment were the useful ones - no point in standing back and thinking the woman can work it out herself.

And interestingly, I was never once given the impression that breastfeeding came naturally - it was always hammered into me that it was a difficult skill to aquire for both mum and bub and one that would need to be coached and practiced for some time until it was easy.

Guess I was lucky enough to get lcs, MCHNs who knew how to help. Or maybe I knew to keep on asking for help... I dunno...

QTB

03-12-2006, 21:02

i havent read all the posts, but i found i had no help, in hospital the midwives thought brayden was latching on properly and feeding great, i didnt have any problems so all seemed well... after a few weeks and he hadnt gained his birth weight back and i needed a lactation consultant or someone to help me boost my milk... anyway in the end it turned out that he wasnt latched on properly and wasnt getting any, which in turn depleted my milk and bubba had to be bottle fed... if i had had more support in the area of breastfeeding i could have successfully continued, i loved it....

MrsMiggins

03-12-2006, 21:17

i really think a key part of bfding support is finding ways to reach mums/families before the birth too.
how i could see breasfeeding support after my baby's birth improved. -baby friendly health initiative guidelines endorsed and followed. these include teaching all hospital staff the same good info on breastfeeding so mums are getting consistent info from everyone. also more empathy for the feelings new mums are experiencing. more encouragement of baby led attachment and following instincts and recognition of normal baby behaviour. mums need to know how to recognize that bubs is getting enough milk, and be able to reassure themselves of this, even if they are feeding 2 hrly for example.

real follow up support in the home for the first 6 weeks would be great. it all changes so quickly and many mums leave hospy without even the milk being in.

programmes targetting dads/support people that focus on a team approach to breastfeeding. so mums will have family support and dads feel included, and also so mums feel its important to lie down and rest and let someone else cook dinner, as they are doing an important job of producing milk.

just some thoughts.
I agree meme.

I listened intently to all the usual BF info given at my antental classes, read up on any info I could find, and pretty much just assumed I would not have any problems, would BF for at least a year and had visions of myself sitting peacefully in my rocking chair, happily nursing my quiet, peaceful & contented baby. Sadly none of these things happened for us.

I was devestated to find that BF was immensely difficult for both bubs & I, and every feed was a hard-fought battle ending in tears for both of us.

My hospital had ceased the home visits from midwives and so I had no real avenues of help. I had no idea where to look, and frankly no inclination given all the problems we were having (BF was merely one of many), it was just all too overwhelming for me to begin to think about where to get the kind of help I wanted.

I was given conflicting advice in hospital (some helpful, some not) and once I left, I was pretty much on my own.

I would desperately like to see the return of home visits by middies re-introduced in my area.

Milliner

03-12-2006, 21:22

I found the bf class before I gave birth to be very helpfull and the middies in the hosp were fantastic, MCHN was good too. I wouldn't say that I needed anymore support but I am sure that not everybody has those kind of people around then some middies are not the nicest people in the world.

oleander

03-12-2006, 21:42

I also went to a BF information class before the birth which I found helpful. My midvives at the hospital were all pretty good, some more than others. There was a lactation consultant that sat with me a few hours after the birth and helped me. The hospital also offers a 'Breastfeeding Clinic' where you can come back to hospital for the day and spend the day with a lactation consultant. I also joined the ABA.

Seekrit

03-12-2006, 21:45

I had help months BEFORE bubs birth.
We had dolls in antenatal classes so we could learn how to position bub, and then the midwife showed us on a fake breast how to shape the nipple and rub it on bub's lip etc.. to ensure proper attachement. Helped SO MUCH :thumbsup:

Which Hospital?
We had the antenatal class, we all had to breastfeed a doll and the midwife who took the class came around to each of us to make sure we were bringing the baby to the breast correctly :laughing:

We also had heaps of breastfeeding equipment (pumps etc) passed around, and practised on our cheeks :laughing:

Shanaynay

03-12-2006, 22:03

Seekrit, yep that's what we did! It was excellent! It was Maitland Hosptial, in NSW.

Also I wanted to add that I think it's important that women's partners get educated on how difficult breastfeeding can be, and how important it is they persevere, and how they need THEIR support. I feel some women lack that emotional support from their partners and find it very hard on their own if their partner is indifferent to breastfeeding.
Luckily my hubby is very pro-breastfeeding but many are don't care or even anti-bf :thumbsdown:

Seekrit

03-12-2006, 22:14

Chris actually walked out of the breastfeeding class in antenatal and claimed that it looked so easy :eek:

I'm lucky that for me it was easy, but I know for others the struggles they've gone through!

Little Gorilla

03-12-2006, 22:17

I consider myself a pretty intelligent person:D ...however, I found myself totally lost when it came to bf after my bub was born.

The nurses at the hospital just didn't have the time to spend with me showing me everything I needed to know...plus the lactation consultant was never there.

I had done so much reading about about being pregnant and the actual birth of the child...but for some reason I never read a huge amount of material about bf.

Firstly, none of my friends had children - so I had never even been exposed to a female breastfeeding. Secondly, I for some reason thought that bf would come easy to me...ie I'd have the bub, it would be placed on my chest and feed....:wizard: ...end of story.

Pretty silly when you think about it...given that I was 28 when I had bub.

I think there needs to be a huge ad campaign done by the ABA .... but not a rosie one, one that's sort of "you can do it, it's hard, its emotional, but its worth it"...iykwim.

My biggest regret is that I didn't join bubhub while I was pregnant.:crying: If I had I would have known sooooo much more about bf.

The thing is, if I had know the types of probs that you encounter with bf and what I could have done to get over these...I might have bf longer.....I think they need to educate women more about bf before they have the baby.

I was soooo overwhelmed with my first born (so was DF), I had very little family support - I felt very helpless...and unfortunately because formula is available it became an option for me to ease a very difficult time in my life...terrible isn't it:(

Maybe they need to run a seperate program to the antenatal clasess.....maybe one totally devoted to bf - really hands on - that tells you all about the hurdles you might have to face...I know the ABA does something like this....but maybe if it was done sort of hand in hand with the hospy antenatal clasess more people would go to them.

Shanaynay

03-12-2006, 22:24

Oh Bubba Ganoush.... :hugs:

You are so right. You know lots of cultures, women are constantly exposed to breastfeeding, they grow up with it all around them, but unfortunately for too many women in our society we have had no previous exposure! I had never even SEEN another woman breastfeeding until I had DD I think. I remember being shocked that the areola goes in the mouth, not just the nipple :laughing:

Tam-I-Am

04-12-2006, 00:28

Okay, there are two aspects to the support that I received post-bubs.

One is that the in hospital care and support was SH!T. Sorry. But it was. My first breastfeeding experience right after DD was born was of the midwife grabbing my breast in one hand, and my DD's head in the other, and brining them together with something akin to a cymbal clash. It didn't get a great deal better - although there were some bright spots. There was a WONDERFUL l/c on staff, who sat with me for a couple of hours the next day and helped me a great deal. But all in all, it wasn't fantastic - I ended up expressing for the 3 days before my milk came in because DD was too sleepy from the drugs they'd given me to stop me vomitting during labour to wake and latch correctly. Of course, nobody actually bothered to TELL ME that this was the problem. They sent me home the day before my milk came in, with no idea how to breastfeed with real milk in my boobies, still expressing and completely overwhelmed and out of my depth. I ended up being readmitted to hospital (completely unrelated reasons) for a while, in the paediatric ward (long story) and was able to access the wonderful l/c, without having to hassle with the midwives who had, unfortunately, been slowly but surely turning me off breastfeeding.

Luckily enough, they also ran an in hospital breastfeeding support unit, with the same wonderful lactation consultant, and I went back several times - as recently as 6 months ago, when DD was 12 months old - I had been infected with impetigo on my nipple, and that same wonderful l/c saved my bf relationship once again.

So the post-discharge care at my hospital was FANTASTIC. I can't praise that l/c - or the breastfeeding support unit - enough. But I wish that the midwives cared more about helping their patients feel comfortable and competent with breastfeeding than they do about forcibly joining breast and baby and walking away. I understand not all midwives are like this, and that many DO CARE, but that was not my experience at all.

Pippi Longstocking

04-12-2006, 06:59

For me, my biggest problem when I had my first baby is that I had NO IDEA it would be at all difficult. I went to ante natal classes and the breasfeeding scetion was all about the benefits of breastmilk etc. I was honestly shocked at how much it hurt and how difficult I found it. I had just thought breastfeeding was a matter of take one baby, one breast, combine = happy breastfeeding baby. For me, that simply wasn't the case! It was more a matter of take one baby and one breast = baby morphing into ravenous piranha baby freak and one tattered bleeding nipple.
So I definitely agree with those that said the support needs to begin before the birth. I wish I had been informed and prepared.
FWIW, we did overcome our problematic start and wnet on to breastfeed her for two and a half years :smiliedance: .
I was more aware when I had my other kids, but still had painful blistered bleeding nipples with every single one of them. But because I was prepared for it, I knew it would end, we'd both learn and we'd get through it to go on to have a wonderful joyous breastfeeding relationship.

danielle13

04-12-2006, 08:03

I agree with what alot of the women have said about breastfeeding being a part of antenatal care, on the other hand though, the learning doesn't truelly begin until bubs is there, on the breast.
I read alot of books whilst I was pregnant and attended a breastfeeding class at the hospital, but nothing prepared me for the reality that sometimes, breastfeeding just doesn't work out.
I had very little support with my breastfeeding attempts. I didn't get to hold DD until about 3 hours after she was born, let alone feed her, and that first attempt was horrible. I was traumatised by having just had emergency surgery, my partner had gone home as DD was born late at night and he wasn't "allowed" to stay, I was groggy and sore, and I had this new little person relying on me and I had no idea what to do. I ended up buzzing for a middie after I'd had DD with me for about an hour, asking when I was supposed to start feeding her..? She was very surly and her reaction was like "what!!?? you haven't fed her yet?!?!". I almost cried - I didn't know I was supposed to have fed her, I didn't know how to! And nobody told me whether I could feed her after the c/s. I felt so guilty. She grabbed my breast in one hand, grabbed DD's head in the other, and kind of just thrust the two together. No mention of attachment, no info on what I should be feeling, how long she should feed, etc. She just sat there watching us for about 20 minutes, said "that'll do", took DD and put her back in her cot (out of my reach - I still had the epi in place and couldn't move), and carried on doing her rounds. I had to call again the next time I thought she may have been due for a feed, the same thing again only a different midwife. I understand they are busy, but the aim of it isn't JUST to get the baby fed, it should be to educate the mother on how to do it without their help. Only one of the midwives the whole time I was there bothered to show me how to attach her myself (the rest just grabbed at me), and I was told in no uncertain terms that I could NOT feed her without a midwife present. So most times DD had to wait for at least an hour for someone to respond to my buzzing, and the one time I fed her without calling, I got a telling off!!
On day 3 I requested a lactation consultant, the midwife told me she'd arrange it for me, and despite reminding them several times, I never got to see her.
I went home after 3 nights, even though I'd had a c/s, as I felt I needed the home-midwifery service, which you only qualify for if you stay no more than 3 nights.. (yes, even after a c/section!!).
I had 5 home visits, all by different midwives, and they all had different information and opinions. It took 5 days for my milk to come in, and one of the midwives said I'd HAVE to give DD supplementary formula feeds as she simply wasn't getting enough. She didn't tell me, however, that bottle-feeding such a young baby can jeopardise the entire breastfeeding relationship. Even the early childhood nurse told me that formula feeds were the way to go, which I now know is against their normal practices.
So, I combined breastfeeding and formula feeds for 6 weeks, then DD self-weened. I left messages with the ABA, Tresilian, and the lactation consultant at the hospital, the quickest reply was 5 days later. I believe if there had have been more support available, I may still be breastfeeding today. Unfortunately I didn't discover bubhub until after this happened, either, otherwise I could have got advice from others here.

* I think there needs to be either a better staff-patient ratio in the maternity wards, or a lactation consultant available who sees everyone before they are discharged.

* Everybody should be entitled to the home-midwifery service, there shouldn't be such stringent "deadlines". (not sure if what i mentioned above is commonplace, or just at my hospital)

* Breastfeeding classes should take place before and after birth, and numbers should be limited so everyone can get their questions answered.

* There needs to be a national standard on information given be midwives/ e.c.h. nurses, etc, there is far too much conflicting info around, and its hard to know what to believe and what to ignore.

* More information needs to be made available on how early bottlefeeding can affect breastfeeding.

That's all I can think of for now.

jessgray

04-12-2006, 10:15

i'm a first time BF'er and 2nd time mum and having bottle feed my 1st son and now giving breast feeding a go with my 2nd i am often amazed at peoples reactions to breastfeeding. i get asked " are you him yourself?" if i breastfeed in public i get looked at like i am committing a crime.
my family and DP are supportive although dp is still learning how demanding breastfeeding is for me:laughing: dp kinda feels useless when it comes to ds2 as he cant feed him if i pop out to the shops for 5 mins and ds2 wont take a dummy so poor dp has to try and calm a screaming bub :(thats my expierence so far lol

i would have liked to learn more about breastfeeding with both my pregnancies pherhaps if i knew more about it i would have BF'ed ds1 who knows.i researched BF'ing this time round during pregnancy and learnt how it can minimise allergies and asthma and that made me want to BF #2:yes:

i also wish someone had told me how uncomfy let down is :laughing:

pickles

04-12-2006, 21:19

Here is a little voice in support of midwives - with the rapidly increasing c/ section rate a lot of our time is spent doing "obs" on women rather than being able to sit down and actually talk / observe a whole feed. There is also the added pressure of 'getting' the baby to feed within a certain deadline in order for the paeds to back off supplement feeding. There is however no excuse for some of the things that have happened in the above responses. As with any porfession there are those that are good at 'educating' and those that are not.
The biggest pce of advise I can give is if breastfeeding is hurting / pinching the baby is not correctly attached even if it looks great from the outside.
Good Luck
Pickles
DD 02/03
DS 03/05

becca74

05-12-2006, 18:07

I really appreciate all of this! You have given me a tonne of really important information to share at the workshop! Thank you :hugs:

Kirstlea

05-12-2006, 23:29

I haven't had a chance to read all the posts but wanted to add my bit just incase it hasn't already been said.

I think families need to understand that a breastfeeding mother is actually doing a very hard job which requires good food, lots of water, and plenty of rest. If she is not getting all of that it makes her job even harder to breastfeed which I think is the reason alot of new mums give up after a few weeks. The stress is too much and of course you don't feel like you feeding your baby properly so you give it up.

I found with my first baby I was under a lot of pressure with inlaws staying with us and not really understanding the full scope of what being a mother was all about. I was so stressed that I ended up comping my dd at around 12 weeks but kept the breastfeeding up until 6 mths whilst comping.

This time (5 week old) I feel so much more relaxed and fully understand the benefits of rest, good food and water. I am such a good cow this time round my ds is packing on the weight and I know I won't go near formula because I do not feel so stressed about breastfeeding, even after having to have a ceasar I still feel better about everything.

Basically I think new mums should be warned of what may happen and given examples so they can learn by others mistakes instead of their own. I know I would have appreciated that knowledge the first time.

Our hospital is very very pro breastfeeding so they send in a lactation consultant straight away and if you live in the city they visit you at home so fantastic support for afterwards but that has only really come into effect in the last year or so. The midwives are also very happy to assist and I even asked them to make sure I was getting ds latched on properly (even though I was sure I was) as I didn't want to go home thinking I was fine when I might not have been.

As I live in a rural area we don't get support from the hospital visiting our home but the ABA is only a phone call away along with the lactation consultants.

Sorry if I've babbled

Gotta get some sleep :laughing:

Kirsten

bubblesox

08-12-2006, 19:19

I had no help whatsoever. My DS started to refuse feeding at around 4 months and I went everywhere - the ABA who told me I was being ridiculous (yes her exact words), my local childcare clinic - they told me he was getting enough, various lactation consultants who had lots of good advice but none that worked - I felt so alone that I ended up expressing all his feeds as I wanted him to continue getting breastmilk. It turned out he was a fussy feeder even on a bottle.

I would just like people to listen and take mums seriously if they have concerns - I think a lot of mums would have just stopped b/fing in my position as the expressing was hard work, especially with a toddler to look after also.

The hospital part didn't really apply to me as both my kids attached and fed perfectly from day one (until DS2 started fussing at 4 months) so I can't comment.

I also think the pre baby b'fing help would be a good idea!

AliyahBlake

10-12-2006, 13:24

The only breastfeeding support I had was in hospital for the few days I was in after giving birth and maybe for a week after when visited at home by the EC nurse. Fortunately, my daughter took to the breast like a champ and never had any problems....I think I was lucky! I did attend a meeting of the Breastfeeding Association in my area, but they didn't really tell me anything I didn't already know. I was one of those mums who researched everything before my baby was born and asked the midwives heaps of questions so my breastfeeding experience was a great one....I'd do it all over again! :)

nats

10-12-2006, 18:00

What Nicole said ^^^

I learned who to bF from 'baby Love" so a big thank you to Robin Barker!
But no thanks to the midwives at Westmead who came by now and then only to fuss about with DS, attaching and taking him off then expressing some etc, etc.....

The one thing that probably saved my nerves was reading somewhere that after birth babies have plenty of nutrition in store so don;t panic if you can;t feed him strait after the birth. So I didn't panic!!!
I thought about want I was going to do and calmly went about it despite the way the middies would fuss me about.
So take your time is key. I think anyway :thumbsup:

Milk_Monkey

11-12-2006, 12:54

Im sure that im repeating what a lot of people have said but to reinforce:

1. More education about breastfeeding Before giving birth. Not just on the benefits, but also the negatives, on the realistics of how difficult it may be for some mothers, the fact that not everyone is able to breastfeed (my friend simply didnt supply milk and my own mother couldnt because of breast reduction surgery from years ago).

2. Have a lactation consultant ready at each birth and for a few days after

3. consultants who are sympathetic and are trained to give advice on a RANGE of methods of breastfeeding.

I had, and still have trouble breastfeeding. i didnt get any help initially and my poor boy refused to eat for the first few days.
Even though my attachment was apparently correct, it was extreamly painful!

More than anything the stigmas surronding breastfeeding and the negative treatment of women (both those who do and dont breastfeed) need to be dispelled.

becca74

20-12-2006, 11:00

Thank you girls for your invaluble imput, I was able to present ideas based on what you told me, at the workshop.

It went pretty well, I hope...The health department are trying to bring all the different models together peacefully....so far so good!

Kizmet

28-12-2006, 12:42

i got no help with bfing after birth :thumbsdown:

KaM

28-12-2006, 13:04

If only we'd known each other kate back then!! I coulda showed you the ropes!! hehehe. .The next one Ill be there for you . .your own personal lactation consultant!

My hospital (Bankstown) from memory had a few midwives that came in to offer help but they annoyed me more then helped me. Constantly prodding and poking at both me and Matilda so that I felt almost like a guinea pig and very uncomfortable. In the end Id often make up things to keep them away from me. When asked to show them how i feed i would say next time she is ready I will call .. but I never would. I hated being treated like 2 yr old. I was lucky that Matilda was no trouble at all and apart from a cracked nipple only twice in 8 mths we are doing well.

I dobelieve that they do sometimes put to much pressure on mothers to breastfeed. SO many Iknow that havent been able to have been made to feel like complete failures which is totally untrue! some just cant do it. Its that simple. My ante-natal classes had some good advice on showing but in the end really it was down to me. And Ihad never seen anyone breastfeed in my family let alone know what I was really doing.

Help for bth sides is very much needed. Not just the b/f mums.

Nicpolsta

29-12-2006, 15:26

Hmm Support, what support is more like it. I spent the dollars, went to a private hospital etc etc. The lactation consultant would stick her head into the room and tell you they would come back to see you in a few minutes. Three hours later, still no consultant. Three days later, still no consultant. I struggled with the expressing not getting a drop to give my baby. As you can probably guess my baby is bottle fed and i felt like a major failure as a fist time mum.
What they need in hospital is a daily class or meeting, say 10am each morning the mums can get together and a midwife or lactation consultant answers queieries and talks about different subjects.
I felt totally neglected at hospital and god forbid i would dare ring the bell for assistance in the middle of the night. I have my six week check up next week and I will be letting my doctor know exactly what I thought of that hospital and the way i was treated. I am suprised they even know if I checked out.
Well thats my vent about support.!

missie_mack

29-12-2006, 18:51

I found my mine difficulties stemmed around having a c section. In hospital they had a lactation consultant who came around the morning after my c section (late the prev night) inviting me to join a class- but I wasnt even up and walking yet. He had two other sessions while I was there but they were always at the time my son was already feeding and I really wasnt interested in breastfeeding infront of other people. I regularly asked for breast pump to help increase my supply and they kept telling me I could get one but were never forth coming. On leaving hospital my breast milk still hadnt come in and I was told I would not be allowed to leave the hospital unless I bottle fed as my son had lost 11% of his birth weight- big wopppeee he was over 4kg born! as my GP said-

After arriving home my milk supply came in but was at reduced rates. I tried motellium to increase it which helped but it still never came in as it should have. I joined the ABA and hired a breast pump and pumped and partially fed for 7 weeks. I never obtained enough milk to solely feed my son but was of the opinion to give what I could was better than not at all. At about 4 weeks my son started refusing the breast after having a cold. Funnily enough as my milk actually increased (thanks to those lactation cookies!) I contacted the ABA lactation consultants by email for advice to be told I should stop giving him the bottle all together. Something I had tried to do to increase my milk and resulted in a hungry screaming baby 24/7. I was very unimpressed with the help I got and was advised to attend a workshop. I also found a community service that could have helped if I came in. But I lived over 1/2 an hour from either location. I was still recovering from a c section and couldnt drive. My DH worked long hours outside of theirs. So when I hit 8 weeks I handed back my electric pump and used a hand pump. My supply had slowed to a dribble as he refused to feed and I was solely expressing the milk.

I was never likely to be a exclusive breastfeeder in light of circumstances. But I was never encouraged or felt supported to continue by those I thought would. If my birth had been different I think I couldve stood a better chance.