Where did you learn about breastfeeding?

Question

I am wondering where people learned how to breastfeed a baby.
Was it:
- From your mother, or watching your family members nurse?
- At school or college?
- At a hospital class or a doctor?
- At a La Leche League meeting (or similar) ?
- From tv commercials, baby magazines, books, etc?

How were they sources helpful?
What would you have liked to know that they didn't tell you?

Answer 1

My prenatal class spent just a short time talking about breastfeeding. My first was born on the day I was supposed to go to a breastfeeding class, so I missed out on that. I did see the Lactation Consultant in the hospital once or twice in the day after he was born. Prior to the birth I had read the book "So That's What They're For" and a lot of breastfeeding information on the internet. I didn't start going to La Leche League meetings until he was about 13 months old. I wish I had gone earlier. LLL actually welcomes pregnant women and it would have been a good way to form a support system.

Answer 2

I personally learned by reading about it beforehand when I was still pregnant. The La Leche League website was helpful to me. With my first baby I didn't get to use the info I learned because she was a micro preemie and was on a ventilator for months, but with my second and third babies I just used trial and error, until of course I had to run crying to the hospital lactation office for help, hehe. I found the lactation nurses to be the most awesome resource I had.
One thing I struggled with this last time around (my baby is 12 months old now) was what to do if he wasn't gaining enough weight. I got the same old same old answers that were not working, and my son continued to LOSE weight while I breastfed him full timr. My doctor kept telling me not to worry, that he would catch up, but it never happened. Finally after praqctuically starving him til he was 9 months old, we put him on formula and he plumped right up. I wish there were more information out there about supplementing, most of the time WIC and the doctors offices try to keep you exclusively nursing, because they *think* its best when it may not be the ideal situation for all babies.

Answer 3

I took a class through the hospital where I was going to have my baby. It was EXTREMELY helpful. You really do need a professional's help, because breastfeeding is hard. There was so much to it I didn't know before hand.
I actually can't think of a single thing they didn't tell me beforehand. With a class, nothing really came a surprise.

I also was visited by a lactation consultant who helped me and my baby learn to breastfeed. I was having real difficulty getting him to latch on, and I wouldn't have been able to breastfeed if it weren't for her. I'd recommend to all new moms to be seen be a lactation consultant. Most hospitals will provide you with one in the first couple days after you have your baby.

Answer 4

When my son was born, to our surprise he had a heart defect and required a long stay in the hospital. Although I had decided to breastfeed beforehand, it was the hospital's cardiologist that really helped me see how vital breastmilk is in building a strong immune system, and how important it was as a mechanism to comfort the child. This cardiologist set up visits from the LC twice a day for several days to make sure that we got off to a good start. I had read "The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding" while pregnant, but nothing prepared me for the realities of it until I did it.

Answer 5

I learned about it mostly from hospital classes I took. And reading alot online and in books.

I wish someone would have told me that I might not produce milk.

I was devastated when I didn't get any milk and couldn't breastfeed my daughter.

I eventually got over it and realized as long as she is healthy that is what matters most of course.

But they never discussed that at all in the class or books. I couldn't even find out later on why I hadn't produced milk.

Answer 6

Actually, I wasn't planning on breastfeeding until they gave me my baby and told me to feed her. I wanted her to have breastmilk but I wanted to pump it. It's my first child so I had no clue that in order for me to continue making milk I actually had to nurse. I had read up on it but not that much. The nurses in the hospital were very helpful. They also had a lactation consutant throughout the day. They gave me the basics, but it was more like a mommy thing. After you do it a couple of times, it will come natural.

Answer 7

I learned about it mostly from friends who where having babies all around me. My mother did not breast feed me & my mother-in-law did not breast feed my husband. Neither one of them where much help...LOL No matter why the baby would cry, they would both spout out that the baby was starving & I needed to give them a bottle! The hospital also sent in a nurse that specialized in lactation to help get me started. My boys mostly got their milk from the breast, but occasionally I would pump bottles so hubby could feed them, (and for road trips to grandmas...)

At first it seems like such a chore, but trust me, I quit too soon with baby #1 (6 mo)and regreted it almost as soon as my milk dried up. Those unexpected midnight feedings (though, rare at 6 mos) where a drag when you had to get up and fix a bottle, instead of just whipping out the old human milk jug!

Answer 8

if you are going thru prenatal courses, they will discuss breastfeeding . . if you aren't, once the baby is born and you want to breast feed, the breastfeeding consultant at the hospital will visit your room and go over everything with you, give you pamphlets to read, help you attach the baby for the first time, etc . . . they will also be available to you after you leave the hospital . . . good luck . . . by the way, if someone says breastfeeding is difficult and you shouldn't do it, don't listen to them . . . only you can make that decision . . . I had no trouble with it . . . if you don't like it, there is always formula

Answer 9

I learned from my own personal experience with my 8.5 month old, who breastfed for 4 months. At first I had the help of the nurses at the hospital because she had a hard time laching on. I think their is a class at the hospital or ask your doctor.

Answer 10

I had a few friends who breastfed... I read everything I could get my hands on when I had my first. I read books, internet sites and pamphlets given to me by my doc. I asked questions to get myself prepared. It was awfully hard, but I breastfed my first for 18 months. I am currently breastfeeding my second about 4-5 times a day (he is 14 months old).

It is the hardest thing the first time around... easier by far the second. One of the best, although hardest, decisions I ever made.