I was told that every woman has the ability to breastfeed.?

Question

I agree do you?

What I meant to say was produce milk.

I saw a show on t.v. where a woman had implants and she still was able to produce milk.

I breastfeed my son and read allot of material saying that everyone can produce milk it's just some give up to quickly. Think about it how did children survive along time ago if thier mom couldn't produce milk. Or did they have some one else feed them theirs?

It usually turns in to an arguement when I talk to my stepmom about it because she said she tried and couldn't produce.

Answer 1

The majority of women (and men for that matter) are born with milk duct and glands. In fact in some countries, the grandma's share the feeding of the infants, it just takes suckling and the milk will start flowing after a period of time. Long ago, the rich women would use "wet nurses" so that they were not restricted by breastfeeding an infant. The wet nurse would be a women from the community who either had an infant of her own or had lost her infant (infant mortality was very high back then). Sometimes there are medical reasons that a women cannot produce milk... ie: cancer where she had a total mastectomy. However, the majority of women who claim that they cannot produce milk or did not produce enough, most likely had one of several problems. First, they didn't really want to breastfeed and were doing it because everyone said they should. Two, they did not have a health professional who was supportive of breastfeeding and there are many who are not (don't ask me why and I am an RN). Three, they did not personally understand the nursing process and what to expect because their OB did not support them in this endeavor. Four, because of a lack of knowledge, they gave up too soon, it hurt, they thought they had no milk because, there is NO milk for the first 2-4 days after delivery and when first starting to nurse. Or five, a combination of all of the above. I included a link (1) below that I think explains it all in very easy to read, clear language. Other helps for the pregnant woman who is interested in breastfeeding is the Le Leche League International and the International Lactation Consultant Association. Both of these groups will help the woman who is interested in breastfeeding to be successful.

Answer 2

No, it's *not* true. Well over 99% of women can breastfeed *except* those with prior breast or chest surgery or a hormonal imbalance.

A woman who has had any surgery may have suffered damage to the milk ducts and/or nerves connecting the nipple to the brain (a reasonably good test for this is whether she has normal sensations in her nipples). Either of these could result in a breastfeeding problem. Many times, both milk ducts and nerves are repaired during pregnancy, so a woman may not be able to nurse her first baby, but may have no problems with her second or third. So a woman with implants may have problems with milk supply--not from the implants per se, but from the surgery to put them in. Again, *some* women who have had surgery can't produce a full supply, but some can. It depends on how the surgery was done, the skill of the surgeon, and how it healed.

And certain types of hormonal problems or changes can also interfere wtih milk production. These are usually PCOS (some women with PCOS have no problems nursing, but others do), pregnancy (usually means that you stop producing enough milk for a baby under a year old), thyroid problems (once corrected with medication, the woman can usually nurse with no more difficulty), and the use of hormonal birth control (if she changes to a non-hormonal method of birth control, her milk supply will usually be fine).

These problems, taken together, are pretty common. But without any of the above, a woman can almost certainly nurse her baby, given the correct information and support. Almost *no* woman can produce enough milk to nurse once every 4 hours, for instance, something that doctors insisted upon a generation ago (and, ridiculously enough, some still do!!). So many cases of "not being able to nurse" are caused by bad information.

Answer 3

The truth is most women can produce enough milk for their children. People overuse the excuse that they couldn't breastfeed. When most people say this it is because they just gave up. That being said, their ARE many women out there who legitimately could not produce enough milk for their children. In the old days, these babies would have been nursed by a wet nurse. My sister-in-law tried to nurse both of her babies for a month and she could never produce more than an ounce...she even used a contraption that would drip formula through a tube next to the nipple so the baby's sucking would stimulate her breasts, however, nothing worked. Her babies were starving and losing weight, so she had no choice. There are legitimate stories like these where a woman was really dedicated to breastfeeding but physically could not do it.

Answer 4

It depends on the woman. Every woman should be able to produce milk but sometimes for some reason it just will not happen. For example: My Mom had so much milk with my older brother that she was catching it in a cup from one breast while he nursed on the other. She had an over abundance of milk. Then 3 yrs later when she had me she could not make enough milk to fill me up and had to give me formula on top of breastfeeding. She did not do anything different between us other than get 3 yrs older, but she was only 25 when I was born.
I breastfed my daughter, and I had plenty of milk for her but I could not pump any milk so her Dad could give her a bottle.

Answer 5

So many people believe the myths and the bs that has been invented by the formula companies over the decades. The majority of people CAN breastfeed. But they either WON'T, do not have the proper education or support, or are unwilling to overcome the obstacles. I hear of so many women who quit due to mastitis (cured by feeding more), not enough milk (caused by supplementing with formula during the first three months), cracked nipples (Lansinoh is the bomb!) and biting (just give the kid something acceptable to bite). My favorites though are the ones who are just grossed out at the thought of a baby sucking on their breasts.

Answer 6

So many women give up without hardly trying but yes I think every woman can breastfeed. Breast milk is very thin and digests much faster than cows milk thus they need to be nursed more often...sometimes every hour. The more often you nurse the more you build up your supply of milk and therefore the less they feed as they get big gulps. hehe....Did you know that babies that are breastfed with no formula supplements for the first year will seldom have allergies later in life? isn't that a great gift to give your child?

Answer 7

I think we do unless for medical reasons. However, some women have it easier than others when it comes to breast feeding.. it doesn't come instinctively and for some it requires a lot of perserverence, sleep deprivation, hard work and motivation... most impt are people who can encourage u and help rather than discourage... its definitely not easy to breastfeed.. i had loadsa problem when i started right from baby's poor suckling, to blocked ducts to low supply... but i struggled and have TBF my baby for 7months... but i can tell u it was the greatest and hardest thing i've ever done.. makes labor seem like nothing compared to breastfeeding.. so if u have decided to breastfeed... stay motivated.. believe in yourself that u can do it and get help earlier if u have problems...

Answer 8

I breastfeed and can not even imagine not. I don't think a baby should have a fake nipple in there mouth.
I do understand that some woman may not be able to due to certain medications thay are taking or something. But it is very rare that a woman does not produce milk at all.
So I guess my answer is yes and no.

Answer 9

Yes every woman has the ability to breastfeed, unless they don't try hard enough, they don't want to or they don't have any breasts. Some women use the excuse that they're on medication that they can't breastfeed but I'm sure they don't ask if there is a safer alternative. I had to go on meds that was not safe for breastfeeding. I was smart enough to ask if there was a safer alternative and there was so I was able to get better and give my baby the best nutrition.

It's funny how only less than 3% of women in the whole world truly, physically (not mentally or medically) can't breastfeed but about 75% of the women only in this country think they are in that 3%. There are a lot of uneducated women out there..I feel sorry for their babies that have to suffer because of it.

Answer 10

No- my friend couldn't breast feed when she had her son because she never produced milk. Her mother had the same problem- though it is very rare. They were both flat chested throughout their pregnancies. My friend now has 3 little boys, and has never worn anything larger than an A' cup.