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Why breastfeeding failed
This poll is only for those who chose to breastfeed (it is not intended to be a debate about breastfeeding!) In order to help me become a stronger CL, I would like to get a realistic picture of some of the reasons why breastfeeding "fails." Feel free to answer the poll anonymously, or to post your story. . Choose why you feel you had to stop sooner than you would have liked. Since I could only add 8 options, but could think of many more, please feel free to elaborate or add your own. Thank you in advance for your help
my option wasnt there! I breastfed Lily exclusively for 3 months, she wasnt putting on enough weight, it was very stressful! We were advised to supplement with the formula after every feed and she started gaining weight again, when it came time to stop using the formula she kind of went the other way, every time i put her to the breast she would scream and squirm and not go on at all. I think she liked the bottle too much because it was so easy to get the milk. So in the end she switched herself to the bottle :(. The doctor said i had alot of milk it just was not fatty enough!
It all began with horrible "support" at the hospital. Gave birth over the weekend my first two births so there was no lactation consultant. By the time I saw one I was waiting to be discharged and in complete pain. Nurses had NO IDEA what to do or how to help.
This third time I gave birth at a different hospital than the previous two. The nurses were trained in lactation support and there was a consultant available. They also had an overall huge breastfeeding success rate. When I got home a consultant called me to see how I was doing and to invite me to a support group (which I never went to).
I'm actually breastfeeding this very second and my little one is almost 10 months old. I'm very proud I've been able to overcome the latch issues and had better support this time around. A good start makes it so much easier.
This third time I gave birth at a different hospital than the previous two. The nurses were trained in lactation support and there was a consultant available. They also had an overall huge breastfeeding success rate. When I got home a consultant called me to see how I was doing and to invite me to a support group (which I never went to).
I'm actually breastfeeding this very second and my little one is almost 10 months old. I'm very proud I've been able to overcome the latch issues and had better support this time around. A good start makes it so much easier.
hi, with my first I had to stop (after alot of thought, tears and indecision) as i had very bad PND and felt that the breastfeeding was a major contributing factor to sleep deprevation, anxiety - (being the sole people able to feed and nurish my child) and the worry as to not knowing when she would wake for a feed and how long i would get between feeds. I stopped and she was fully weaned by 8 weeks. I wish i had been able to stick it out a bit longer and that someone had told me that it would only be a few more weeks and the feeds would settle down a bit and not be so all over the place and include the cluster feeds of a newborn - however i guess i did what was best for me at that time.
With my second i was determined to give feeding a better go but was also aware that my first had not suffered in any way (health, bond ect) from going on the bottle and that if i did get PND again i would once again have to do what was best for me in order to function and cope and be the best mum I could be. Well as it turned out I was really lucky and did not get PND again and having a great supply and egar feeder who had no problems lataching on I was able to feed until he was 12 months when we weaned together with no hassles. It was a fantastic experience and one in which i would dearly love to repeat. But I will take each pregnancy and baby as it comes and just see what happends - good luck.
With my second i was determined to give feeding a better go but was also aware that my first had not suffered in any way (health, bond ect) from going on the bottle and that if i did get PND again i would once again have to do what was best for me in order to function and cope and be the best mum I could be. Well as it turned out I was really lucky and did not get PND again and having a great supply and egar feeder who had no problems lataching on I was able to feed until he was 12 months when we weaned together with no hassles. It was a fantastic experience and one in which i would dearly love to repeat. But I will take each pregnancy and baby as it comes and just see what happends - good luck.
I am still BFing my 14 month old, but I'm voting for my sister who weaned early with both children due to severe, chronic thrush. (There wasn't a great option for her situation but I chose "pain/exhaustion.") With her first she stopped at around 8 weeks, 6 of which she and the baby both had severe thrush. With her second the thrush happened again almost from the very beginning but she toughed it out for 4 months before finally throwing in the towel after 4 rounds of Nystatin, 2 rounds of Diflucan, and every home remedy she'd heard of (besides gentian violet). It was so bad there were yeast cultures growing in her bloodstream and her doctor was threatening hospitalization.
It was kind of bizarre.
I also dealt with thrush for about 8 weeks, had mastitis 3 times, and when my period came back at 7 months PP, my pumping output dropped to nothing... but I managed to scrape by and we're still going strong.
It was kind of bizarre.
I also dealt with thrush for about 8 weeks, had mastitis 3 times, and when my period came back at 7 months PP, my pumping output dropped to nothing... but I managed to scrape by and we're still going strong.
I didn't vote because none of the options really applied to my situation.
My first experience with breastfeeding didn't exactly fail so much as it just didn't last as and wasn't as successful as I would've liked it to be.
When my first son was born, he had latch problems and needed a nipple shield for two weeks, but the lactation consultants at the hospital were a Godsend. They had my son nursing like a pro with the nipple shield by the time we left the hospital, and they called me every week for the first month home, then once a month, to check in and offer me help if I needed it. They were fantastic.
However, when I had my son, I was a college student and had him in daycare all day, and classes scheduled at random times during the day. I had a manual pump that I was only able to use during the morning so I could send him to daycare with one bottle of breastmilk. The rest of the day he was supplemented with formula. I couldn't take my pump to school because I had no place to store the milk once it was pumped, nor any real time between classes. I was only able to breastfeed him during early morning hours, evening hours, and weekends (and I'd have to supplement formula during the day because I didn't have a full day's supply for him).
He also grew teeth at four months old and had quite an annoying biting habit that I could not seem to break, no matter what I tried. By the time he was about 6½-7 months old, he was only nursing once a day in the early morning before we woke up. At 8 months old, I had almost no supply left and the strength in his bite was getting much stronger, so I called it quits. I really wanted to breastfeed him longer, but it just didn't work out that way.
When my second son was born, he learned how to latch on about 10 minutes after he was born, and I've been able to exclusively breastfeed him from day one. I work full time, but I'm able to take time to pump at work, and there is a refrigerator/freezer to store it until I go home. My second son is almost 7 months old and still has yet to cut a tooth--can't say I'm in any hurry for him to grow teeth, lol! I'm really hoping I can continue breastfeeding him to 12+ months.
My first experience with breastfeeding didn't exactly fail so much as it just didn't last as and wasn't as successful as I would've liked it to be.
When my first son was born, he had latch problems and needed a nipple shield for two weeks, but the lactation consultants at the hospital were a Godsend. They had my son nursing like a pro with the nipple shield by the time we left the hospital, and they called me every week for the first month home, then once a month, to check in and offer me help if I needed it. They were fantastic.
However, when I had my son, I was a college student and had him in daycare all day, and classes scheduled at random times during the day. I had a manual pump that I was only able to use during the morning so I could send him to daycare with one bottle of breastmilk. The rest of the day he was supplemented with formula. I couldn't take my pump to school because I had no place to store the milk once it was pumped, nor any real time between classes. I was only able to breastfeed him during early morning hours, evening hours, and weekends (and I'd have to supplement formula during the day because I didn't have a full day's supply for him).
He also grew teeth at four months old and had quite an annoying biting habit that I could not seem to break, no matter what I tried. By the time he was about 6½-7 months old, he was only nursing once a day in the early morning before we woke up. At 8 months old, I had almost no supply left and the strength in his bite was getting much stronger, so I called it quits. I really wanted to breastfeed him longer, but it just didn't work out that way.
When my second son was born, he learned how to latch on about 10 minutes after he was born, and I've been able to exclusively breastfeed him from day one. I work full time, but I'm able to take time to pump at work, and there is a refrigerator/freezer to store it until I go home. My second son is almost 7 months old and still has yet to cut a tooth--can't say I'm in any hurry for him to grow teeth, lol! I'm really hoping I can continue breastfeeding him to 12+ months.
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