why cant some women breast feed??

[moominmonsta]

im planning to breastfeed my baby but some women on here have talking about how they couldn't breast feed i was wondering why it happens??

[ganesh]

I think sometimes the 'system' can go a bit wrong and maybe there's not enough milk, or the baby can't do it properly. Sometimes the mum just doesn't like it or it hurts too much and she gives up.
I had quite a bit of discomfort at the beginning but I persevered and it went very well for 9 months,for both my babies. My main problem was too much milk if anything and I'd leak everywhere and feel like a cow!!!!!!
It's up to the individual I guess but I would say try to do it because it's better for the baby.

[redcrx]

a friend of mine couldnt because of a breast operation she'd had years ago. Another couldnt due to having an emergency c-section where they had to cut vertically and horizontally, leaving her in a lot of pain.

[nicksmum]

Its true what Ganesh says,I really wanted to breastfeed my sons but both times I didnt produce enough milk,after numerous attempts which left me and baby extremely upset I had to give up trying.
Thats why I get annoyed at "breastfeeding fascists",do they not realise that it doesn't work for everyone?
Despite all this my sons have grown up healthy and happy!

[*ALFIE*]

...ganesh shri karishna....ommmm......

[spudqueen]

Both my sons were premature (6 weeks and 4 weeks) and they couldn't latch on properly. As they weren't suckling properly my milk dried up pretty quickly.

[ganesh]

What's it all about.....Alfie??

[winny]

I suppose there is some medical reason why some cant breast feed. I fed both of mine for 4 months. I cant say It was easy though. Im with nicksmum and ok it is easy for some women and pressure is put on us to feel its all natural. I fed quite well to start but as I got more active I would notice my milk supply dwindled. I ended up drinking gallons and not doing much exersize to keep milk supply up enough. This in turn got me a bit depressed as life seemed to revolve around ensuring a milk supply. I decided a happy mum and a content baby was more important than breast milk. The same thing happened both times.
My friend eats an awful diet, drinks one glass of water a day and has milk for england. So how does that work.
Give it a go and if you get on well keep going but dont feel bad if you decide its not for you. Happy is better than struggling.

[tigerthecat]

My son and I really struggled, he obviously hadn't read any books or seen the breast feeding video. I had a good midwife who suggested I bottle and breast fed so that we could learn the technique together without him continuing to loose weight. This worked a treat and we eventually got the knack (took six weeks of feeling like a branch of theco-op dairy though). I was determined basically because I'm lazy and didn't fancy the steralising or paying for formula. :-)

[kitten_uk2]

i wanted to breast feed my son, but couldnt, as i couldnt produce and he wouldnt latch on. theres not much u can do other than give a bottle in that case.

[banjosister]

Hey moominmonsta,

i breastfed both of my children for 8 months basically coz I'm a lazy cow and it was on tap at right temperature. It took a while to settle down, much easier with my second. For some reason neither child would latch properly to left boob so I just turned them around so they were still lying on their left side and it worked a treat. Do your best and don't feel pressured as your baby will feel your stress.

I think some people can't do it coz their boobs are too big. My friend used to have to put her boob on a pillow, ha! mine were so small I never had that problem!

I think possibly pressure from nursing staff can make it very difficult and some people just say they couldn't.

Do what makes you happy, if you're happy your baby will be happy. xx

[karenfward]

I struggled with my son coz my boobs were too big and the nipple never seemed to face in the right direction! Also he was a hungry baby and when he wanted milk he wanted it NOW so he always ended up yelling. (On the first night home from hospital my husband ended up at ASDA buying formula because I was convinced he would die of starvation overnight!) The next day I tried again butAfter ten days of struggling and getting upset I suddenly realised that a happy mum and baby were much more important so we switched to formula and life was bliss! My son is seven now, he is happy, is rarely ill and doing very well at school - what more can I say? Try it, if you get on well, great stuff - if you dont as long as baby is happy what else matters! Good Luck and enjoy your baby.

[ganesh]

I used to have to lie down on my side (not always practical I know) but that was comfy and relaxing for both of us.

[AniseedTwist]

I was really lucky with my breastfeeding experience, and I'm still doing it and loving it. A lot of people are able to breastfeed without any problems so don't be disheartened. Here's what happened with me, just in case it may help you at all.

First of all it was something I was determined to do, despite some negative views from family members and warnings of exhaustion (turns out it's not really exhausting as it releases hormones that relax you, you can also do it lying down and don't have to sterilise or heat any bottles!)

Secondly, our hospital was very pro-breastfeeding and the midwives there were helpful about answering questions and advising on feeding positions. When we were at home I was paranoid that my baby wasn't getting enough milk as she cried so often, but the visiting midwife assured me this was normal and that her weight gain was fine, (and the more you feed the more milk you will produce). She also checked that my position was ok and reassured me that it's normal for it to hurt a bit at first, and this gave me confidence.

Finally, it helped a lot that people in my anti-natal class were breastfeeding as well as two of my friends, so we could talk to eachother if we had problems. It was very important for me to have a bit of a support network, and this stopped me from giving up on several occasions. If you don't know anyone else who's breastfeeding there are helplines you can phone at any time for guidance (NCT, La Leche League and Association of Breastfeeding Mothers, to name a few), and there should be a local breastfeeding network near you.

Sorry to waffle on, I just wanted to add a positive experience. I hope it works out for you and good luck with the rest of your pregnancy.

[maggie01]

I had plenty of milk but there just seemed to much space between my lap and my breast. I was told to put baby on a pillow to make it easier. The fact that I am allergic to plaster (which was tapped across my hand) and it was not on my records didn't help as I had really bad blisters which made it difficult to hold baby. That couldn't have been the only reason though as I still couldn't manage baby no 2.