Sick of the negativity towards breastfeeding!!!

[Kirstiedenman]

Just a bit of a rant. I am sick of seeing new mums that were thinking of bf benign scared or turned away from it because of all the negative things people say these days. It's disgusting, it's time consuming, it hurts. 1 it's not disgusting 2 a baby alone is time consuming but bf I feel makes it easier and 3 yes it does in the beginning but women go through labor and that hurts a hell of a lot more than bf and we still go back so why not stick with th bf. we were created to naturally do this just as we were to carry a child and give birth. I think today's society on parenting and bf is becoming really bad and I feel for these little babies. They are bundles of emotion and need love care and support I just truly wish that we could turn the clocks back where it was never even question to bf you did it because that's what was natural and that was what we were ment to do. I don't mean to offend anyone I just find it sad.

 

[MumMumMum]

I hope this isn't in response to my post.

 

[embeth]

I love breastfeeding think it's the most natural thing in the world

 

[nzjade]

I love breastfeeding!

I don't understand how anyone can find it time consuming. What is time consuming is going to the shop to buy formula, washing and sterilising bottles, getting up in the middle of the night to make a bottle of formula instead of simply undoing your bra and flopping out the boob lol. I am not against formula at all, my point is simply that breastfeeding most definitely is not time consuming!!

It doesn't hurt if it's done properly. And I don't know how anyone can call the most natural thing in the world disgusting. How do people think probably every baby in the world got fed before formula was invented?

 

[girlnboots]

I just hate how there's such a stigma around it. I'm going to breast feed, but it feels so awkward to talk about, even though its completely natural.

 

[Kirstiedenman]

I hope this isn't in response to my post.

This wasn't in response to any post sorry if I made you feel that way it was just a post in general about the outlook on bf at the moment

 

[Kirstiedenman]

I really don't understand how people say it is disgusting we as a species wouldn't have survived if we went on the fact that it was time consuming and disgusting or frowned upon. I have absolutely nothing against formula feeding mums at all that is there own personal choice and it doesn't mean they are a bad person but bf is just as natural as carrying a baby yet it is talked about as an awful thing that shouldn't be hard but if we thought that about labor everyone would be getting elective c sections just because it's easier in some ways than going through hours of labor. I think the world needs to take a good look at what we were created to do sometimes

 

[girlnboots]

Give it another 10-15 years. Elective c-sections will be the norm.

 

[Lawgirl]

I breastfeed, but I DO find it time consuming and I did find that it hurt in the first week or two (and my LO has a perfect latch, according to my MW and HV).

I don't agree with negativity towards breastfeeding and I'll happily do it anywhere, but I think some realism is called for. Some women find it hard.

 

[w8ing4bean]

I love breastfeeding but i find it time consuming sometimes. I will happily sit there and feed LO 24/7 if she needed it. Right now she is my only priority. But with my next baby i just worry i wont have as much time or attention for phoebe if im constantly feeding!!

 

[embeth]

I think it can be time consuming in the way that obviously if the baby is taking just from the breast then obviously you are having to sit there for however long it can take and no one else can do it for you. My first was only 17 months when I had my second but found it just fine. Just made sure I was prepared before feeding with drink, toys, story etc for my older one.
Something your body makes specifically for your baby is amazing, while I completely understand not everyone wants to do it or finds it difficult for various reasons I don't understand why there would be any negativity towards it at all..sad the way things change sometimes xx

 

[Kirstiedenman]

I know first hand women find it hard. I had inverted nipples and my lo was born with his bottom lip sucked in so bf for me was unbelievably painful and my milk supply dried up at 10 days post partial so I had to mix feed but after 5 weeks of lots of battling with nipple shields, cracked nipples a million and one different latch positions and herbal mess we were set. I am not saying it's not hard because there are some women that there nipples bleed tremendously and I do not think they are a bad person if they can't keep going because it can be hard I think more my point was all the negativity that is out today and the bad advice that new bf mums or bf hopefuls have been getting that turns them away from it.
It is great that we have the resources we have so that we don't have to go through an awful experience but if we didn't have modern day technology we would have just dealt with it and fed our child.

Not only that I don't think there is near enough education about the right ways to bf and what to expect these days. My hospital I had my son at was amazing the maternity ward had 2 rotating lactation consultants on a 24hr roster so there was always a professional to assist with latch and things as midwives can be very wrong in there advice with bf.

And I actually had a friend today who is now formula feeding after having an unsuccessful bf journey say I can't wait to breastfeeding the next one ff is so time consuming I can't wait to be able to not have to do bottles or sterilising and what not so it can be time consuming both ways.

 

[aliss]

I have formula fed one and breastfed this one, I have found BF much less time consuming! LOL! I wonder if people had actually done both, would they still think that?

 

[Bevziibubble]

I found breastfeeding to be very time consuming as my LO is a total boobie monster. Even now she spends a large portion of the day feeding or just latched on.


I have found that there is a lot of negativity towards breastfeeding, particularly the longer and longer I breastfeed for. People started off supportive and then when six months arrived the comments started on how I should be introducing formula now. Why, when I went through hell to make breastfeeding work out would I stop at six months when babies need milk for at least a year?!


Even when I was on the operating table a few months back about to be put under general anaesthetic for a wisdom tooth extraction, the nurse prepping me for the operation could even keep her negativity to herself and said 'ooh you'll have to stop that soon! You don't want to be one of those mothers still breastfeeding when their kid is seven years old!' And then proceeded to tell me that her child was STTN by 7 weeks etc etc! I honestly can't think of a worse time or place that I could have received this negativity and unwanted advice!


We are all mothers doing our best for our children, so as long as each mother knows that they've done the best for their child then everyone else should butt out with negativity towards any feeding method. The main thing is the child is loved. We are all doing the best for our child in the situation we are in. Live and let live!

 

[Lady_Bee]

I don't think anybody should really be saying it's "disgusting", as that's pretty unhelpful, but as for the other things I do actually appreciate it when people are open about the difficulties they had with breastfeeding in the beginning, and for many women it isn't at all easy, isn't at all painless, is very, very stressful and downright exhausting etc. and I don't think creating unrealistic expectations about it being some kind of beautiful magical bonding experience is doing new mothers any favours either. They need to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. Maybe they'd be less likely to give up if they expected it to be HARD in the beginning!

 

[sherple]

I kind of get the time consuming thing, with my first two dd's i ff and they were in an easy routine from a young age, but my last dd i bf on demand so it did seem like all i did for ages.
I must admit to being concerned about how im going to manage with my other dd whilst feeding. DD was constantly wanting fed and didnt really have any routine, especially in the early days and i was fine with that as thats what was recommended to feed on demand. Im just worried how i'll manage this with a 3 year old who needs collected from nursery half way through the day. Its a 30 minute walk there and longer on the way back with dd.
Hmm im sure we'll figure it out somehow.

 

[lanaross]

I must be living under a rock but I've never heard one thing negative about breastfeeding. Formula feeding - yes, plenty of this but for some reason I only heard encouragements and even jealousy sometimes but never anything negative.

 

[Kirstiedenman]

I don't think anybody should really be saying it's "disgusting", as that's pretty unhelpful, but as for the other things I do actually appreciate it when people are open about the difficulties they had with breastfeeding in the beginning, and for many women it isn't at all easy, isn't at all painless, is very, very stressful and downright exhausting etc. and I don't think creating unrealistic expectations about it being some kind of beautiful magical bonding experience is doing new mothers any favours either. They need to hear the good, the bad and the ugly. Maybe they'd be less likely to give up if they expected it to be HARD in the beginning!

I completely agree I had a really really rough time in the first 5 or so weeks with mine and I always share those stories I just dislike when I see things like a new mum is asking for advice as she has had some horror stories or what not and there is comments like it is really painful and ff is just so much easier I would just go straight to formula rather than it is really painful but a lot of women get through it and the pain goes away.

I love this thread because even though we all have a similar view there is a few different points and has even put things in a little perspective for me,
I think I never thought of breastfeeding time consuming even though I fed my son every 30-1hr for a good 3 months ( he and I were both in a bad rutt) but we coslept and then I slept through his feeds a lot of the time and I didn't work and I also didn't have another child which I guess would be time consuming but not in a negative way or a more so way than ff I don't think but just different and every womens experience is different I had all the time in the world the first time so it never matter but this time I may think differently it definitely wont stop me bf but it will make me think about that subject a bit more I think.

 

[aliss]

I must be living under a rock but I've never heard one thing negative about breastfeeding. Formula feeding - yes, plenty of this but for some reason I only heard encouragements and even jealousy sometimes but never anything negative.

Must be a geographical thing because same here, you would never hear that here.

 

[kassiaethne]

ugh I totally agree, there isn't "negativity" here so much as that breastfeeding just shouldn't be an option. Everyone just pushes formula all "oh your baby is born? we are going to auto feed him formula without consulting you. oh we supliment with formula till your milk comes in, oh you are having trouble with getting him to latch? formula!!!!!" it's very daunting when everyone is telling you to give up from minute one instead of being supportive. I wish mexico would be more supportive. You'd think it would be more pro breastfeeding with formula being so expencive anyways.