how many women who formula fed, would have considered breastfeeding if they'd had more support and info?

Question

i'm just curious because i found out all the information and support to breastfeed. but i can't remember any health professionals discussing it with me.

i just personally feel like my life would be worse if i didn't! i love cuddling him especially in the evenings as it helps calm him down and we have a nice cuddle. also he's only been a little bit unwell with a cold once...

i just feel like i want to support and inform people about breastfeeding. it is a truly wonderful experience. and to the lady with a squirty nipple it happens to us all, just latch him back on quick!

Answer 1

i really wanted to breastfeed but i had no support at all while i was in hospital. i had an emergency C and it was hard for me to hold her at my breast in the normal position but nobody helped me to try and find a different one or show me how to do it.we had to stay in hospital for 5 days and by the time i came home and my mum could have helped me it was too late because she wouldn't take it anymore.i felt really bad about it as i wanted to breastfeed her and it made me feel like i was a failure.

Answer 2

I breastfed my son for 13 months and am currently nursing my 6 month old daughter. I wouldn't change it for anything... they are healthy and happy and all the studies show the benefits for both mom and baby. However, I had 110% from husband. If I didn't have that, it would have been really hard. Also, I researched everything I could regarding breastfeeding and asked a million questions. None of my friends or relatives breastfed, so I didn't have any support there. I also invested in a hospital-grade breastpump since I work full time - it's worth the money when you consider the cost of formula!! Now, I try to encourage all of my pregnant friends to breastfeed and give them the enourgement they need b/c so many people that say they tried it seem to only tell horror stories of it. But, I think it is the most wonderful thing I can do for my children and we both enjoy it.

Answer 3

My son was born in 2004 and at the time there was a big drive to promote the benefits of breastfeeding. There was so much information and the health professionals went over it in detail. However I almost felt like I had no option but to breast feed and if I bottle fed then my baby wouldn't be as healthy. I got very depressed and couldn't bond properly with my son for months. My son had terrible colic and he was sick after every feed so he was hungry again straight away after. I was constantly feeding him! I became very ill because of it and lost a lot of my immunity. Before I breast fed I hardly ever got ill and if I did I bounced back extremely quickly. Even now nearly 3 years on my immune system is shot! I suffer IBS and feel constantly lethargic and sick. My doctor said all I can do is eat well and relax. I had a stomach bug which lasted about a month and I was put on cancer sickness treatment just to keep food down! My partner on the other hand had it for about three days! That's how weakened my immune system became. As soon as I stopped breast feeding I had more energy and bonded with my son.

I know breast feeding is the better option over bottle feeding, in terms of rearing a healthy child. But I believe that sometimes it's probably not always the best option if ot means the mum is too ill to care for her baby properly.

I am glad in some ways that I breast fed as my son is so healthy, he bounces back from illness and I lost loads of weight through it. I'm planning on having another child next year and I will see how I feel at the time before deciding what to opt for. One thing's for certain I won't let health professionals force me into anything !

Answer 4

Some people, regardless of the support factor, will not want to breastfeed, and personally I will always be pro-choice when it comes to women's issues. I chose to breastfeed, but I am not going to knock the women who formula feeds. If a woman is not going to enjoy it or the effort is way too much (which it can be), then the child is going to sense it. Children pick up on their parents' feelings and feeding is a time of warmth and love. That is the key thing here - that the child is being fed with love. you can still cuddle and love with a bottle. Some bottle feeders miss the memo on this and those are the ones that bother me - the proppers. But then there are those who hold their child to their chest and snuggle, while giving a bottle.

Answer 5

I tried to breastfeed and I think if I had more info and support maybe it could of been successful but formula feeding has not been all that bad. My son has been just fine. If I do have a second child in the future I will do everything in my power to breastfeed successfully!!

Answer 6

I would have to say yes, I would have considered breast feeding with my second child if I had more support and info. My first son I had support and info... but an "incident" with a nasty nurse caused my son to be afraid of my breasts and he wouldn't feed from them anymore. I had help from a professional lactation consultant provided by the hospital/medicaid, and there was nothing to be done to change his mind. However, with my second child, medicaid was still deciding if I was approved or not, so I did not recieve the same support and info, and I was on a couple medicines that I wasn't sure were safe, so I ended up choosing formula and bottles just to make sure I wasn't harming my son. It's terrible how money, insurance and medicaid, or lack thereof, can dictate how good of a chance at life a mother and/or her child recieves.

Answer 7

I tried to feed my son, but I could not satisfy him. I was bottle feeding by he was a week old.

He was sleeping through the night by 6 weeks, and was on 4 bottles a day at that point.

At this time I spoke to Mum from my Antenatal class who were breastfeeding 11 times a day, and the babies did not sleep through until 6 months plus.

I am happy with my decision.

Answer 8

When my son was born 6 weeks prem, he didnt have the sucking reflex, but was adament i wanted to breastfeed, so kept at it. I got lots of support from the nurses on the ward, and ended up breastfeeding him till he was 6 months old.

Answer 9

My son would not breast feed...I think my problem was that I did not have the anatomy (inverted nipples). I pumped for three months (UGH!). It was twice the the work...first pumping then feeding. Anyway, even though I bottle fed (first breast milk, now formula), I still felt as though I was bonding with my baby, cuddling while feeding by holding him close. I think support and info is very important but I felt shunned by some people because I wasn't breast feeding. What they didn't take the time to find out was that the stress of me trying and ultimately failing to breast feed was causing more stress and frustration for me and my baby.

Answer 10

I agree with hotgirl!!! I tried with my first child, but was unsuccessful and had to switch to formula - so I felt extremely guilty for not persevering, which made my post-partum depression worse! I formula fed my second, and he and I both did great! I have some friends that breastfed and some that bottlefed - and the most important thing is respecting what each woman chose and her PERSONAL reasons for doing so.

That being said, I did have some support to breastfeed (an aunt, pediatrician, lactation hotline) but I also had support to bottlefeed (friends, relatives, pediatrician). The most important thing to me is that my choice, whatever it was, was supported by the important people in my life.

And just because you bottlefeed doesn't mean you can't cuddle your child. You can even bottlefeed your child without a shirt on (or with a bra/tanktop if uncomfortable) and encourage your husband/partner to do the same. It doesn't matter how you create that intimacy with your child - as long as you do it.

Thumbs down? Thanks for being supportive...