If I hear ‘breast is best‘ one more time I honestly think I will scream. Don’t get me wrong I understand the benefits for both mum and baby but I don’t need it rammed down my throat every five seconds.
Not all mums can or want to breastfeed, like everything else it should come down to parental choice. For whatever reason a mum does not breastfeed for it should be respected, not frowned upon.
Why do mums put each other under so much stress just to be seen to be doing ‘the right feeding choice’?
When I was pregnant with Roo I wasn’t that keen on the idea of breastfeeding if I’m honest, but like all first time mums I adopted the ‘I’ll give it a go‘ attitude. Once Roo made her appearance I did give it a go but due to inverted nipples (sorry TMI) and infection after c-section it was to difficult so she was bottle fed.
Whilst pregnant with Tigger I gave breastfeeding more thought and attended a breastfeeding session. I discussed my nipple issue and was told that it wasn’t an issue at all. So once again I tried to breastfeed, it wasn’t happening. Even with the help of a specialist breastfeeding nurse who sat with me on the ward all night could get it to work. Watching Tigger fight and scratch his face was frustration and hinge was heartbreaking. In the end I agreed to give him a little but of bottle milk, which settled him immediately. After a sleepless night I decided that I didn’t want to put my baby through that stress and opted to bottle feed once more.
Just because I wasn’t able to breastfeed does this make me a bad mother? Does it mean I gave birth my children the wrong start in life?
No, you see Breastfeeding… It’s just not me!
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