5 Breastfeeding Myth Busters
- Hannah Webster
- 2 days ago
- 4 min read
Last week I sat my exam to become an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC). In full honesty, I cannot be sure I passed. It was hard. What I am sure of though is how much I have learnt. Wow. Breastfeeding is amazing. But you know what else it is? Hard. Really, really hard. Not just physically but mentally too. Those of you who have attended our classes may already know my mantra, so altogether now; hard things are not bad things! This is as true for birth and labour as it is for feeding your baby. I have been working a few shifts this past week where I feel like I am saying a lot of the same things to families in regard to breastfeeding so I thought it might be nice to just bust a few of the myths that seem to perpetuating the breastfeeding space.
Breastfeeding is 'natural' and 'easy'
Breastfeeding is natural. In the sense that our breasts were made to feed babies. And when I think about the physiology of the infant's mouth and nipple/breast shapes as well as the hormones involved with feeding...it is just incredible to me. My admiration for milk production is similar to how I feel about the placenta. Pretty increds. So natural in that sense, yes. But not natural in the sense that it just seems to happen without any hiccups or hard work. I liken breastfeeding to running. We can all run. Our bodies are made to run. It doesn't mean we can all get out and blast out a 10km though. Some of us maybe, mostly those who have run before. But for the first time? It takes perseverance and sometimes tears and then it does get easier. I promise you that.
Your baby will feed 8 times in 24 hours
If your baby is anything like my baby, it will feel more like 80 feeds than 8. Who even started the '8 feed' thing? I blame us midwives most likely. Or 'three hourly feeds'. These are meant to be minimums. Most breastfed babies will feed a lot more than that. Especially in the first few weeks. And this is normal!! Go easy on yourself. Lower the bar. Feeding 'all the time' is absolutely what midwives expect from newborns and you are smashing it.
A routine will quickly fall into place
Again, you might get lucky with this. My experience, both with my own babies and when I see people postnatally, is that a 'routine' isn't necessarily something that happens for a long time when breastfeeding. You may become more confident in predicting when your baby might get hungry or needs to sleep but there might not be a regular rhythm to that for some time.
Breastfeeding is always enjoyable
Oh man. Breastfeeding can be such a joy. It can bring you into this beautiful oxytocin filled love bubble. And it can also be utter crapness. You can feel touched out and overwhelmed and unsure and also so in love. All at the same time. Sometimes the quiet, dark hours of breastfeeding can be the most beautiful moment of calm and connection and on other nights, at other moments, the most lonely and uncertain. I can't tell you how you will feel but I can tell you all those feelings are normal.
I won't be able to tell how much my baby is getting
When we visit families are home in the early days we get asked about volumes all the time. You are never going to know volumes in the sense of a bottle fed baby. You can't ever know whether your baby took 5mls or 30mls. What you can know is that what goes into a baby must come out. Nappies are so important. Are there lots of wet and dirty nappies? Do you see proper sucks and swallows at the breast when your baby is latched? Does your baby seem pink, alert and calm (mostly, not at 0300am and that is also ok). Try to move your thinking away from exact volumes to getting to know your own baby and their behaviour a little more. If you need help working this out, ask someone! Preferably not someone on tik tok though...
I could talk about breastfeeding all day. I think it is just the most incredible thing but I also get why so many of us struggle with it. No matter how honest your midwife or antenatal teacher is (and we are pretty upfront!) having a newborn and getting to grips with how regularly they feed can feel pretty shocking at first. It is so full on! Remember their stomachs are so small. They need lots of little feeds initially and they need to switch those milk making cells on in your body so that you can begin producing larger volumes.
The good news is, it gets easier. Feeds do begin to space out. You begin to learn your baby's feeding and sleep cues. You start to recognise when your baby needs one breast or both sides, when they have trapped wind or when they aren't really feeding for nutrition but just want to be near and close and held. It might be worth saying that when you are in the thick of it with feeding, you forget that exclusive milk feeding is recommended for six months. This can feel like such a long time but I assure you, it will be no time at all until you are mashing veg and cleaning up bolognese that has been thrown on the floor!
If you need some help then please reach out. We would love to help you with any feeding questions or concerns you have.
@growandgatherbirth
Comments