Yes, breast milk is magic BUT we need to acknowledge the value and importance of breastfeeding while also accepting the stress that breastfeeding challenges and infant feeding decisions expose individuals to.
This is a fantastic piece full of research Molly. And that bit just summarises what I tend to discuss with women in my practice when breastfeeding itself becomes a stressor (aka, the best thing out of all, is mum's well-being!):
"'breast is pretty darn great… but NOT at the expense of the mother’s health and wellbeing'.
When we start there, we can fight for education + support and other broad solutions to limit exposure to the stressors associated with breastfeeding/feeding decisions while viewing breastfeeding/feeding decisions as a stress-inducing risk factor at an individual level."
So glad I found this article! I had severe postpartum PTSD and felt VERY pressured to breastfeed, which contributed to my exhaustion and sleep deprivation in the hospital (I spent a week there with HELLP syndrome and a full-term but underweight baby in the NICU). Things would have been so different had I been told by a kind nurse, "hey, your body is very sick and it's going to take a long time to recover. your best decision may be to formula feed so your family can help take care of feedings and you can prioritize sleep. producing breastmilk right now does not need to be a high priority and you can bond with your baby as you have energy."
Great article! Something I’ve found to be the case here in the U.K. (based on being a peer supporter, and having run a breastfeeding support group) is that lower income / working class mums are much more likely than higher income and middle class mums to have health visitors, midwives and other healthcare/medical people persuading them to give up breastfeeding at the slightest sign of difficulty. Middle class mums are more likely to be persuaded by those same HCPs to keep going. I personally think this is partly responsible for the belief that mums are constantly being ‘guilt tripped’ into breastfeeding because it’s middle class mums who write opinion articles and the like. The mums who are guilt-tripped into stopping have less of a voice because the they’re under-represented in these kinds of article. I wonder if you’ve come across anything like this in your research or whether it’s even been looked into? Or whether I’m completely ‘barking up the wrong tree’. (I mainly supported low income and working class mothers and my experience was of HCPs pretty much telling them to stop, even in two cases referring to social services!)
this is so interesting, Ruth. I doubt there is much out there on class-related directionality of "guilt-tripping" into stopping vs continuing to breastfeed. If there is, I would LOVE to see it.
The UK is an interesting model for this bc as you point out both groups of moms are working with the same HCPs and getting different messages. Healthcare is much more divided in the US.
Definitely not barking up the wrong tree! Such an important consideration!
Love this piece, Molly. SO fascinating: "Breastfeeding mothers experienced guilt in relation to family and peers; formula feeding mothers experienced guilt in relation to healthcare providers and peers. "
Of course we know more about ED than breastfeeding! 🤱Men’s pleasure over everyone else’s survival and baseline wellbeing is such a thread in your findings and it’s so angering. Keep up the good work!
This is a fantastic piece full of research Molly. And that bit just summarises what I tend to discuss with women in my practice when breastfeeding itself becomes a stressor (aka, the best thing out of all, is mum's well-being!):
"'breast is pretty darn great… but NOT at the expense of the mother’s health and wellbeing'.
When we start there, we can fight for education + support and other broad solutions to limit exposure to the stressors associated with breastfeeding/feeding decisions while viewing breastfeeding/feeding decisions as a stress-inducing risk factor at an individual level."
Thank you so much, Aleks!
So glad I found this article! I had severe postpartum PTSD and felt VERY pressured to breastfeed, which contributed to my exhaustion and sleep deprivation in the hospital (I spent a week there with HELLP syndrome and a full-term but underweight baby in the NICU). Things would have been so different had I been told by a kind nurse, "hey, your body is very sick and it's going to take a long time to recover. your best decision may be to formula feed so your family can help take care of feedings and you can prioritize sleep. producing breastmilk right now does not need to be a high priority and you can bond with your baby as you have energy."
You captured EXACTLY what needs to be said in those situations.
I truly appreciate you sharing your story and I'm so sorry you went through this.
Great article! Something I’ve found to be the case here in the U.K. (based on being a peer supporter, and having run a breastfeeding support group) is that lower income / working class mums are much more likely than higher income and middle class mums to have health visitors, midwives and other healthcare/medical people persuading them to give up breastfeeding at the slightest sign of difficulty. Middle class mums are more likely to be persuaded by those same HCPs to keep going. I personally think this is partly responsible for the belief that mums are constantly being ‘guilt tripped’ into breastfeeding because it’s middle class mums who write opinion articles and the like. The mums who are guilt-tripped into stopping have less of a voice because the they’re under-represented in these kinds of article. I wonder if you’ve come across anything like this in your research or whether it’s even been looked into? Or whether I’m completely ‘barking up the wrong tree’. (I mainly supported low income and working class mothers and my experience was of HCPs pretty much telling them to stop, even in two cases referring to social services!)
this is so interesting, Ruth. I doubt there is much out there on class-related directionality of "guilt-tripping" into stopping vs continuing to breastfeed. If there is, I would LOVE to see it.
The UK is an interesting model for this bc as you point out both groups of moms are working with the same HCPs and getting different messages. Healthcare is much more divided in the US.
Definitely not barking up the wrong tree! Such an important consideration!
Love this piece, Molly. SO fascinating: "Breastfeeding mothers experienced guilt in relation to family and peers; formula feeding mothers experienced guilt in relation to healthcare providers and peers. "
Thanks, Kay!
Of course we know more about ED than breastfeeding! 🤱Men’s pleasure over everyone else’s survival and baseline wellbeing is such a thread in your findings and it’s so angering. Keep up the good work!
Right?!
It's how I feel about the placenta research too 🤓