Helping mothers with breastfeeding

[demi]

I had problems getting started breastfeeding with my first baby. She wasn't latching on properly, i was painfully engorged, she wasn't gaining weight and i had to pump before feeds to relese some milk and make my breasts softer so she could get a proper hold and a proper feed. I had cracked bleeding nipples and was in tears at feeding times from the pain. But the midwifes in the hospital and the breastfeeding counceler who came to help me at home were very supportive and respctful of my determination to breastfeed. In my eyes there was no other way. Breastfeeding is like an extention of pregnancy, somthing which is a natural function, not a choice, its what is supposed to happen so i didn't even concider giving up. After the first month i was becoming a pro and wondering what all the fuss was about. And when my second was born i had virtually no problems feeding him right from the begining. I remember it stinging for a few seconds at the begining of the feed and the pain quickly subsibing as i relaxed and enjoyed the time together cooing over my new born. After the first week, maybe 2 weeks tops everything was grate, no pain at all, plain sailing ever since. I breastfed my daughter until she was 2 and a half and will do the same for my son, now 16 months.

I had my babies in Scotland where there is support and advice avalible for new mothers to help with breastfeeding. However, here in Macedonia there is no such support and i think the docters must get payed by the formula companies to premote bottle feeding as every new mother iv spoke to her tells me the same thing, 'the docter told me i don't have milk and i must bottle feed instead' ! This is completly wrong! I'v already helped one of my friends here who was pregnant the same time as i was with my son. The docter had sent her home from the hospital with the advice to only breastfeed every 3 hours! Of course her milk supply reduced and her baby stopped gaining weight and she was told she didnt have milk and just to bottle feed. Luckily i was there to help and support her and advised her to feed the baby all day and night, as much as possible which maybe as often as every 30min. In a month she had regained her milk supply and faded out the formula milk completly. She always thanks me for helping her, she says she'll never forget it.

Just now another friend has had a baby and the same thing is happening to her. I'm going over to see her tonight for the first time since she gave birth. Hopfully i can help her too. She says she has been told she can't breastfeed because she has flat nipples and there's nothing that can be done about it. Iv been looking online and there is clearly ways to deal with this problem:
http://www.breastfeedingbasics.com/arti ... ed-nipples and it says in most cases breastfeeding actually corrects this problem as the baby is sucking on the nipple and streching and pulling it outward.

Does anyone know of any good sites for information for breastfeeding councelers? Or any other good sourses of credible up to date information? Is there any midwifes/health visitors/breastfeeding councilers on the forum? I don't want to give people bad advice. I want to learn as much as possible so i can help other women here.

[fifi folle]

http://kellymom.com/is a good resource
La Leche league is another good one: http://www.llli.org/
as is http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/

Sounds like the advice there is like the uk in 70s/80s good job supporting your friends!

[demi]

http://kellymom.com/is a good resource
La Leche league is another good one: http://www.llli.org/
as is http://www.analyticalarmadillo.co.uk/

Sounds like the advice there is like the uk in 70s/80s good job supporting your friends!

Thank you

Everything here is like the Uk in the 70's! The hospital look like something out WW1!

[safronsue]

it always amazes me people would just go to the trouble of making bottles of second best stuff when the real deal is on tap....so to speak.

[demi]

I think a lot of women have trouble getting started and give up at the first hurdle. It is painful in the first few weeks but your nipples toughen up, you get used to it and it becomes a wonderful painless bonding experiance with your baby. But it takes some work to get used to it. Both you and the baby need to learn what to do and it does take time.
When i gave birth to my daugher i expected breastfeeding to be effortless. Oh boy, i did i underestimate the work envolved! But i had the support and advice of midwifes, the health visitor, breastfeeding counciler and of course from my wonderful mum who made a mad dash to the 24h supermarket to buy a breast pump at 3am at night after i first got home from the hospital and wasn't able to breastfeed because my breasts were so engorged!

Women need more support to perservear with breastfeeding, though the difficult and painful first few weeks so they can get past all that and go on to breastfeed without any problems hopfully continuing until the baby 2.

Women here are left on their own and it really seems like instead of offering help for problems the docters prefer to tell them its not worth bothering about, if you have soar nipples or the baby's not latching on you might as well not put yourself through anymore discomfort and just change to bottle feeding.

Also the medical advice here is extreamly outdated. When i was at the GP with my son she was asking me what he eats and i told her everything without sugar and salt plus breastfeeding and water in a cup during meals. She said very good then offered my 8 month old a toffee sweetie! I said but thats sugar and he'll choke on it! She said oh no no, its fine, its only caramel!

[Weemary]

Hi Demi, I'm Scottish and had my babies in France, I find they are fine here for promoting breastfeeding at the early stages but much much too quick to tell mothers to give up at the slightest hurdle also most French mothers work so they only breastfeed for the 1st 3 months anyway. i breastfeed my 2nd son for 29 months and honestly the look some people, especially female doctors give you when you ask them to give you a medicine compatible with breastfeeding . They look at you like you have 2 heads or something! I was disappointed when my daughter refused to breastfeed anymore at 7 months but shortly after changing to solids she decided she was not interested but then again not interested in taking a bottle either at the moment the only way i can get milk into her is by making a porridgy mixture twice a day with cereals and milk she'll eat that and takes small sips of 2nd age ready made milk straight from a cup. I was very disappointed and had to fight against feeling i had failed her in some way since i fed her brother for such a long time but i felt better about it when i thought every baby is different and my baby seems to have naturally made the decision to stop i have done my best for her and gave her the best beginning possible so i feel a lot better about it now. Anyway here is a link to a site that you may find useful it is a Spanish paediatric site but it is in English and is for finding out which medicines are compatible with breastfeeding which i always found useful It is very much up to date it the whole site has just been updated so might be a tad slow to begin with. http://www.e-lactancia.org/