As written by a mum who 'was' 100% sure she wouldn't breastfeed and then went on to breastfeed for two years
I suppose I should start by saying that I am a breastfeeding mum. Well, I was. My son is three now and he stopped feeding over a year ago. I breastfed him for over two years. I was also someone who categorically “never-in-a-million-years” would consider breastfeeding. When asked at my booking in appointment what my feeding preference was I ticked the formula box and that was that. I didn't have to give it a seconds thought. Not a chance.
Because I was 100% sure I wouldn't breastfeed and then went on to breastfeed for two years I do find a lot of people want to know why I was so adamant that I wouldn't during pregnancy. I think my reasons might resonate with other people and they might just help a few consider it for their baby because, as a side note, it is the best thing I have ever done.
Because I was 100% sure I wouldn't breastfeed and then went on to breastfeed for two years I do find a lot of people want to know why I was so adamant that I wouldn't during pregnancy. I think my reasons might resonate with other people and they might just help a few consider it for their baby because, as a side note, it is the best thing I have ever done.
- In my twenty four years on this planet I had never ever seen a woman breastfeed before. Ever. Not in real life. Not in a movie. Not in a magazine. Never. Breastfeeding was completely and utterly abnormal to me.
- Anything I had ever heard about breastfeeding was negative. This relates to the above because it was all anecdotal. I had never actually spoken to someone who had breastfed which would have changed things greatly. The words I associated with breastfeeding were “sore” “starving” “clingy” and “weird”. I don't blame myself for buying in to any of those things because why wouldn't I? I had no reason not to and this was my only experience of the topic.
- The books I read, the clothes I bought the baby and pretty much anything baby-branded in some form seemed to refer to bottles. It might have been cute baby grows with bottle shapes on it or the baby in the soap we were watching. Bottles were portrayed as the normal way to feed a baby and I had no reason to rebel and do the “different” thing.
- Someone gave me a steriliser as a present. It was a lovely present and I didn't want to not use it. Something as simple as that was another reason to not even consider breastfeeding my baby.
- On three different occasions while I was pregnant women said to me that I should make sure that I am not “pressured to breastfeed”. This made me feel as though it was something that I should avoid. Something negative. Something dark almost.
I would really recommend attending a breastfeeding support group, speaking to your midwives and speaking to actual mothers and families who have breastfed before you make your decision. If we are lucky enough to have a second child I'll tick that breastfeeding box with pride and won't give it a seconds thought. For me it happened by accident when my son was born. I was curious more than anything. I am forever grateful for that as our breastfeeding journey was an amazing experience.
