The way I advocate for Exclusive breastfeeding, you won’t believe I gave my first child formula. This is MY BREASTFEEDING STORY and I hope you learn something from it. I reserved it for the last day of World Breastfeeding Week 2020 because I want to conclude the week with a highlight of some very important points.
After my first child was born, my breastmilk was not flowing. The nurse at the hospital told me to keep nursing her like that, that my milk would eventually come in. And besides, that she was getting colostrum, even if I couldn’t see it. We kept at it after we got home, but it was still a big struggle. This baby kept crying and sucking incessantly, but I could tell she was still hungry. At this point my nipples were sore and raw! The pain was out of this world. I was using cooling packs and lanolin ointment, but she would reinjure the nipples after each “breastfeeding session”.
My mum who came for omugwo was sick and tired of the frustration. She was on my neck to go and buy formula so the baby won’t starve. Infact she informed my sister of the situation, and all the way from her city, my sister ordered 2 cartons of Similac Advance®, express delivery! We started giving her the Similac Advance, which is the closest thing you can get to breastmilk on the market; but I still wasn’t satisfied. I called back the hospital where I gave birth to report my breastfeeding difficulties, and they gave me an appointment with their lactation consultant.
When we got there, they hooked my breasts to an electric pump, to see if truly nothing was coming out. Lo and behold, something was coming out! This was day 5 postpartum. I wanted to cry when I saw the milk because I had already concluded that I was unable to produce breastmilk. She told me the quantity would increase with more breastfeeding and that it’s absolutely normal for my breastmilk not to come in for 3-5 days after giving birth, especially as a first-time mom. That the much baby gets should be enough except she’s lost more than a certain percentage of her weight. I didn’t even know this.
I was then asked to show how I breastfeed her at home, and it was seen that baby wasn’t latching on properly to the breast. Because of the poor latch, she wasn’t draining the breasts, more milk production was not stimulated, and her sucking on my nipples led to the cracking and soreness I was suffering.
A little rewind. I did not attend any antenatal classes during my first pregnancy. The hospital I used when I was in Nigeria was a company’s private clinic, they didn’t offer any classes, just appointments. By the time I got to the hospital I used abroad, they had concluded the classes they had for that period. I was given books and information packs to read. The doctor I was seeing was very patient and ready to answer my questions. I was also reading up on the internet; but there was still something missing. I still wasn’t as informed as I am today. There was an information gap only a proper antenatal class or an informative motherhood group could have filled.
Back to my breastfeeding story.
The lactation consultant gave me a manual pump to extract breastmilk so as to stimulate more production. It was too tedious to use, so I bought my own electric pump. That was when my breastfeeding journey began. My milk started flowing; baby’s latch was perfect; life was good. But I was still giving her formula. Why? Because there was pressure from my mum to “nye juo nwa afo!”. Let her stomach be full! She seemed to be perpetually hungry, always wanting something in her mouth. This was interpreted as hunger, and to quench this hunger, we were supplementing with infant formula. Besides, there were 2 cartons of Similac Advance. Each carton had 8 tins. Were we going to let all that expensive formula waste like that?
I had read about the benefits of exclusive breastfeeding, but for these flippant reasons I’ve given, we kept supplementing with formula till she turned 2 months. What happened at 2 months? I made formula for her one morning, she tasted it and rejected it. I pumped breastmilk and tried to give her, she rejected it too. I then breastfed her, and she nursed happily at the breast. That did it for me. I didn’t even try a second time to see if she’d accept food from the bottle. I cleared all the formula and locked them up in a cupboard. I bought her a pacifier to be sucking on, because I saw she just needed to suck on something for comfort; hunger wasn’t her problem.
That was how we entered into the wonderful world of exclusive breastfeeding. As you can see, it wasn’t a very intentional decision, it happened by chance. Like I said earlier, I didn’t have access to all the detailed information on the benefits of EBF which I have shared here in this group. If I did, I would have tried harder to fight off any pressure or opposition. We started at 2 months, so we exclusively breastfed for 4 months. The good thing I like about my first experience is that my daughter exposed me to formula feeding, supplementary feeding, and exclusive breastfeeding all at once. From my personal experience and all the knowledge I have gathered along the line, I choose exclusive breastfeeding hands down.
With my second pregnancy, I registered for an intensive antenatal class. I sought information and I got information! I got so informed that when I speak people think I’m a doctor. I’m not a doctor, I’m just a mum who knows a whole lot. When you know better, you do better; and you also empower the people around you with that information. That’s the reason I try my best to cut through the noise and share quality information on EBF, so that those who really need the information can get it.
IMPORTANT POINTS TO NOTE
- A lot of new mums do not get the support and encouragement to breastfeed from their primary support system. In many cases, there’s a lot of pressure from family and friends to avoid exclusive breastfeeding or breastfeeding in general. This is largely due to misconceptions, misinformation, or simply not being informed. New mums who have had access to information should be able to to stand their ground and educate their family and friends on the importance of breastfeeding for both mother and child.
- It is normal for your breastmilk not to come in till some days after delivery, especially for first-time mums. It doesn’t mean you are incapable of breastfeeding. Right from your pregnancy days, you have been building up colostrum. This is what your baby will feed on for the first few days. It should be enough for your baby. A newborn’s stomach is the size of a peanut. Follow your healthcare giver’s advice. They’re in a better position to tell if and when you should introduce formula for your baby.
- Exclusive breastfeeding is recommended for the first 6 months of a child’s life. If you had certain difficulties which made you supplement with formula in the early stages, that doesn’t mean you still can’t exclusively breastfeed once you overcome those challenges. 6 months is the goal, but less than 6 months is better than nothing at all.
- Breastfeeding has so many challenges. The good news is that a lot of these challenges also have their solutions. If you really have the intention to breastfeed but experience problems, do not write yourself off or join the anti-EBF bandwagon out of spite. There’s help available. Seek help from the right channel: your doctor, paediatrician, nurse, midwife, a lactation consultant, or a breastfeeding advocate. These are the people who can help you with solutions. Do not go to the people who are likely to discourage you.
- A word about cracked and sore nipples: This is mostly caused by a poor latch. It means your baby is attached to your breast wrongly. Learn about proper latching and breastfeeding techniques and positioning.
- There are many other reasons why babies cry; it’s not always hunger. Introducing formula is not always the answer. It could be that they feel cold, want to be held, want to suck on something, have colic pain etc. How can you tell when your baby is hungry? Pay attention to your baby’s feeding cues and also keep track of feeds. Even if she’s crying because of hunger, the solution should be breastfeeding more, pumping more milk, boosting your production; and most importantly, checking that there’s a good latch during each breastfeeding session so that she can get enough milk.
This is my breastfeeding story and the lessons learned. I hope it informs, inspires, or encourages someone.
World Breastfeeding Week 2020
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