Breast is best?

Most mums have heard this phrase over and over again and as much as we may agree that breastfeeding is the optimum way to feed our babies, it is not necessarily all that easy. As a Physiotherapist with a special interest in the musculoskeletal side of women’s health, I always ask my ladies whether or not they are breast feeding and never understood until now why it could be met with such animosity. My reason for asking was simply to understand the potential influence of their hormones on their musculoskeletal system and to take into account the loading demands of their feeding positions. However, I now understand what a difficult subject it can be for so many women. For lots of women feeling that they haven’t mastered breastfeeding and have had to resort to formula feels like a failure on which so many people seem to have an opinion.

So I thought that I’d use this article to share the things that helped me to breastfeed successfully and to give those who aren’t in this position a chance to reflect on their attitudes to new mums and how they are feeding their babies.

I did an NCT breastfeeding workshop. It provided some information about positioning and highlighted that skin to skin contact with your baby early on can help both breastfeeding and the bond with your baby. However, the really useful bit was about watching for a baby's feeding cues, as if you can recognise when your baby is a bit hungry, it’s much easier to feed them at that point, than it is to miss their subtle cues and then have to calm down to feed them when they are starving! The things though that it didn’t cover, or that I didn’t appreciate until I was in the position of struggling to feed a starving baby myself, was that if your baby is congested when they are born (i.e.has loads of mucus in their nose) it is hard for them to feed; if their nose is blocked shoving a boob in their mouth obviously makes it difficult for them to breath and is not conducive to feeding or having a contented baby.

Equally, although we all have an idea that it takes a while for our milk to come in, the fact that it can take 3-5 days before a proper supply is established was wasted on me until I had a baby who was clearly not happy with the amount of milk on offer.

My baby was born on one of the hottest days of the year and after a good birth, I got him home and after 2 hours he was very unhappy and way too hot. He tried to latch on and then got so hot and bothered that he screamed and screamed. I had formula in the cupboard as a 'just in case' but was so engaged in trying to calm such an unhappy baby that I forgot. By the time I’d remembered and thought maybe I should just give him some formula so that he’s had something and would make it through the night (a bit dramatic I know but it was how I felt at the time) he fed a bit, enough to go to sleep and I thought right now I can hang on until the midwife comes in the morning.

Thankfully, she was amazing!!! She pretended not to be amused by the fact that in the middle of the night I’d been watching videos of women breast feeding and wondering why it wasn’t working for me. She just said 'well dear your boobs don’t hang downwards, try this instead' and so with a bit of repositioning and believe me I did exactly what I was told, breastfeeding was established.

I knew that I was supposed to be lining up the baby's nose to my nipple but what I hadn’t considered in the middle of the night was that instead of trying to follow the videos I needed to consider my own shape.

Once you’ve sorted out your position and your baby has latched it is still bloody uncomfortable, even when you’ve got it right, for the first 5 seconds and then it feels ok. If it doesn’t you need to reposition. This sometimes nail- biting discomfort goes on for about 8-10 weeks, until you and your baby have sorted it and your body has adapted. In this period of time, Lansinoh cream and silver Breast Angle cups can be helpful. The latter allegedly helps healing but I think that it’s likely that they just stop your bra from rubbing against where you’re sore.

The other thing is how much/ how long it takes to feed a baby. I’d heard about cluster feeding but initially what that meant for me is that between 5:00-11:30 and 18:00-22:30 I was feeding almost constantly. Everyone kept saying 'Are you sure that he’s feeding and not just using you for comfort?' but believe me, I was sure and he went from the 25th to the 90th percentile so now I have proof!

Once, you get to 8-10 weeks breastfeeding is easy and a nice thing to do, and how you hope it’ll be at the beginning.

So if you’re thinking about breastfeeding your baby, go for it but don’t expect to just put them to your breast and for it to happen, as it takes time and practice and while you’re both learning, it can be miserable for both of you.

Get help and support!!! Don’t think that you’re a failure if it’s not working, just do what feels right for you both! And if you’re thinking of offering an opinion to a friend or relative about how she is feeding her baby… don’t! Unless she invites you to do so.

 

Breastfeeding helplines and websites

• National Breastfeeding Helpline – 0300 100 0212 

• Association of Breastfeeding Mothers – 0300 330 5453 

• La Leche League – 0345 120 2918 

• National Childbirth Trust (NCT) – 0300 330 0700 

Equally, if you have a breast feeding question other than asking your midwife you can sign into Facebook and message the Start4Life Breastfeeding Friendchatbot for trusted NHS advice anytime, day or night. 

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