Many women feel the way I did. They’ve just given birth and it wasn’t the magical golden hour they were told about. They’ve been thrown into breastfeeding with complications and not enough resources and then forced to make decisions with too little information.
Breastfeeding on its own is challenging enough, but if Mama or baby have complications then it can be devastatingly difficult to develop a routine that feels sustainable.
A Difficult Start After Birth
I became passionate about breastfeeding education after I gave birth in 2020. My son and I struggled with poor weight gain, weak latch, and nipple confusion/preference. He gained exactly zero ounces during his first two weeks of life and the doctors were scared.
I became passionate about breastfeeding education after I gave birth in 2020.
Due to the nature of my emergency C-section, I was unconscious for 12 hours after his birth. Time delays like that can be detrimental to breastfeeding due to moms body not being stimulated to make milk. We used a supplemental nursing system (SNS) in the NICU, I triple fed him for three weeks when we went home, we used nipple shields to try to mitigate the bottle preference, and I pumped and pumped and pumped at the recommendation of my doctors.
A Lack of Support in Hospital
These issues – coupled with birth complications and the isolation of the pandemic – threatened our breastfeeding journey. It also made my husband’s and I’s experience with our first baby stressful at best.
The hospital staff were sweet, but they told my husband that I probably wouldn’t be able to breastfeed and sent us home with so much formula. They also sent me home without measuring my flange size for the hospital grade breast pump they suggested I rent. They told me that the flange size would “probably fit fine.”
The hospital staff were sweet, but they told my husband that I probably wouldn’t be able to breastfeed and sent us home with formula.
Now I know that correct flange sizing is imperative to successful pumping.
Finding Support from Other Women
I felt lost, inadequate, and I was scared that I wouldn’t be able to provide, what I thought, was the most basic thing for my baby.
I had so much help during this time, but it wasn’t from my hospital. It was from women who were passionate about seeing others achieve successful breastfeeding no matter what that looks like for each family. These women truly saved my breastfeeding journey. They taught me so much, and in saving breastfeeding for me, they saved a chunk of my mental health as well.
A New Path and Purpose
At around six months, my son and I got our groove going and I breastfed him until he was a year old. Now I am one of the women who helped me.
As a Certified Lactation Counselor, I am deeply passionate about finding how all of the puzzle pieces of a mom and baby’s life can fit together in order for mothers to make the best decisions for their family. Whether it is through exclusively nursing, combo feeding, exclusively pumping, or coming to the conclusion that formula is truly the right decision for the family, there is a good fit for every family. In my practice it is vital for moms to feel informed and confident about their choices.
Gratitude for the Struggle
I am so grateful for my breastfeeding struggles because, not only did they show me how resilient and strong I am, they led me on a path to helping other women to find resources that empower them sooner than I did.
