Please
note, these articles solely express the view of the author and
NOT the view of the NCT.
My experience of breastfeeding
by Julia Simpson, November 2004
Before my son was born I knew the benefits of
breastfeeding. I had attended NHS Parentcraft lessons but also,
with my husband Dave, signed up for NCT ante-natal classes.
The benefits of breastfeeding are well publicised,
some of which include: increased health benefits to the newborn
baby, no cost (as opposed to formula) and bonding between mother
and baby. By going as a couple to NCT ante-natal classes both
myself and Dave felt breastfeeding was definitely the right
choice for us.
This is my breastfeeding story:
After giving birth to my son, Angus, by emergency
caesarean, if I’m honest the first day of his life is
a bit of a blur. I didn’t hold Angus for approximately
2 hours after he was born as I was in recovery. To say I felt
that I hadn’t bonded would be an understatement. I don’t
recall any cuddles with my son but there must have been as I
have pictures to prove it!
The first night on my own in the hospital was
tough. I couldn’t get out of bed due to the caesarean
but the midwives did pass Angus to me when he was crying to
see if I could feed him. I tried to encourage him to latch on
but he didn’t seem that bothered and was happy to fall
back to sleep without a feed.
On the second day I felt much more alert, I
was more mobile and thankfully able to pick Angus up without
assistance so I again attempted to breastfeed. I spent a considerable
amount of time throughout that day with Dave trying to help
to get Angus to feed. We placed him in the ‘nose to nipple’
position and it seemed to be going well with Angus latching
on, but for some reason no milk would come out, Angus wasn’t
suckling. I knew at this stage my breast would be producing
colostrum and only a small amount, but I also knew how important
it was that Angus received this as it is full of anti-bodies.
After Dave left for the evening I spent the
whole night (no sleep) doing skin-to-skin with Angus to try
and encourage him to breastfeed. He knew exactly what to do
as he managed to work his way down my body to my breast but
once there it was as if there was a drought. Although the breastfeeding
wasn’t a success it certainly helped with bonding between
us.
I was staying calm as I knew that it could be
hard and that it is very rare for a baby not to be able to breastfeed,
after all, it is one of the most natural things in the world.
However, the night was tough on my own. Angus was starting to
get frustrated with lack of food. As he cried I had regular
visits from the night midwives with comments such as ‘haven’t
you fed that baby yet’ and ‘I don’t think
your nipples are long enough’. I have to confess, I had
some tears but I was determined to succeed.
The following day I started to express the colostrum,
using the hospital breast pumps, as there was a concern that
Angus was going to start losing weight. Sara (the NCT breastfeeding
counsellor – tel: 01908 504849) had told us during our
ante-natal classes that it is best not to give a bottle until
the baby has been established on the breast as they might decide
feeding from a bottle is easier. Due to this I decided to feed
Angus with a feeding cup rather than go down the route of using
bottles and risk the chance of never being able to breastfeed.
It was tough and tiring as he had to take tiny
sips and it was very messy. It would take so long to express
the 30ml of colostrum that I was tired and ready to give in
(oh and not forgetting the several times I knocked over the
expressed colostrum!).
As I had delivered by caesarean I had to stay
in hospital for 5 nights after the birth, this meant Dave could
only give me a certain level of support. He wasn’t there
during the darkest hours when Angus was crying and it felt like
everyone else was trying to sleep (although on reflection I
think all the new mums felt like that!).
I did give in one night and gave Angus some
formula (by feeding cup) and was distraught when I rang Dave
the following morning and confessed my ‘sin’. He
was so supportive and said that it was fine and we would get
back on track and it would be easier when I was at home. We
had decided that we would phone the Sara when I was discharged
and if she was unavailable then the NCT breastfeeding helpline.
This was our master plan and my ‘light at the end of the
tunnel’.
I was finally discharged from the hospital when
Angus was 6 days old. I was mainly feeding him expressed milk
from a feeding cup but topping up with formula if he needed
it. I had kept trying to get him established on breastfeeding
but nobody could understand why he wasn’t feeding. It
was as if he was just too lazy! Although I did experience some
negativity on the post-natal ward, there were many supportive
midwives who gave a lot of their time in helping me but with
so many new mums there was only so much that could be done to
help and the nights were tough.
Eventually when Angus was 1 week old we had
a result. I had left a message for Sara to call me however,
I was fortunate to have a visit from one of the community midwives
who managed to crack it with us. We finally succeeded in breastfeeding
by expressing a small amount of milk and then putting Angus
in position, he then tasted the milk and tried to get more without
success, we did this for about 5 times and it was suddenly as
if the penny had dropped and he realised that with a little
bit of effort he could be fed. The midwife was over the moon
and I was so chuffed I got Dave to take a photo of the occasion!
Angus’ weight did drop after birth, which
does happen quite often, but his weight gain went from strength
to strength after this initial hiccup. I even had comments that
I was over-feeding him but following a call to the NCT breastfeeding
helpline I was assured that you cannot over-feed a breastfed
baby.
We have not looked back since, Angus is now
6 months old and is still successfully breastfeeding although
we have just started weaning, but that is another story in itself.
To say that I would have given up breastfeeding
if it hadn’t been for Dave would be an understatement.
If you want to breastfeed, talk to your partner or family, let
them understand your reasons and the benefits to you and your
baby, they can then be your support if you have a tough time.
This is just my experience, many of the new
mums in the hospital breastfed without ever looking back; I
just hope this gives you the hope that if you persevere you
too can look forward to some wonderful breastfeeding moments.
Useful contacts
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