My background: My mother was a lactation consultant educator. As a teenager I was the tech support for her lectures, keeping the then early tech of computer projectors working properly for her. I would just read a book while she lectured, but I say through so many lectures it eventually sunk in anyway. She eventually started trying it her new tests on me, knowing that if I did poorly the test was too hard.
So here are some key points I want to make, not in favor of breastfeeding exactly (although I do think it’s good, and that breastmilk is good!), but in favor of making it easier.
Some women just have a really hard time producing milk. That’s ok! You can still get nearly all the benefits without breastfeeding, by using a breastmilk bank! Some women overproduce milk, and for their own health must pump it out. Some of them donate this excess milk to a breastmilk bank for others to use.
It shouldn’t be painful. If it is, something is wrong and you should seek support from a lactation consultant. Don’t trust doctors with this, most are clueless about breastfeeding and will give actively harmful incorrect advice. My rough estimate is that 90% of women should be able to breastfeed without pain (if given correct advice and guidance), and the remaining 10% should just give up and use a breastmilk bank. In our well-fed modern society, overproduction is quite common. As a community we produce more way more breastmilk than we can use!
There are a lot of technical details, and getting them right matters. If done incorrectly, things can start to go wrong. If you correct this quickly, within the first couple days, you’ll be fine. The longer you let things go wrong, the worse it gets. Women who’ve been doing things slightly wrong and hurting themselves for many days are in for a load of trouble. The problems compound and become increasingly bad, and the recovery will be painful whether you decide to continue breastfeeding or not. Get help early and often!
A good quality breastpump makes a big difference. There are tons of shoddy ones, so getting advice on which ones are good is important. They can cost several thousand dollars, but are fully cleanable, so many women choose to rent (since they only need them for a year or two).
The first few weeks are indeed much more important. Aim to give breastmilk at least for the first couple months, ideally. Again, it doesn’t need to be your breastmilk, use a bank if needed!
If possible, talk with a lactation consultant before giving birth. There’s a lot of technical details to learn, and getting it wrong hurts! If you have had breast surgery, you definitely want to talk with a lactation consultant. A lot of plastic surgeons are clueless about mammary glands and unnecessarily mess stuff up in there. Another potential problem you might notice before giving birth is if your breasts are still smallish in the third trimester. There’s a chance you will underproduce milk, and you be prepared to have that be only a portion of your babies calories. You can supplement with a breastmilk bank and/or formula. Don’t use a standard bottle to supplement though if you plan to also breastfeed, instead you need to use things that won’t teach the baby bad nursing habits.
Any specific knowledge about colostrum? (Mildly surprised it hasn’t been mentioned in the thread.) Do breastmilk banks usually supply that, and is it worthwhile?
My background: My mother was a lactation consultant educator. As a teenager I was the tech support for her lectures, keeping the then early tech of computer projectors working properly for her. I would just read a book while she lectured, but I say through so many lectures it eventually sunk in anyway. She eventually started trying it her new tests on me, knowing that if I did poorly the test was too hard.
So here are some key points I want to make, not in favor of breastfeeding exactly (although I do think it’s good, and that breastmilk is good!), but in favor of making it easier.
Some women just have a really hard time producing milk. That’s ok! You can still get nearly all the benefits without breastfeeding, by using a breastmilk bank! Some women overproduce milk, and for their own health must pump it out. Some of them donate this excess milk to a breastmilk bank for others to use.
It shouldn’t be painful. If it is, something is wrong and you should seek support from a lactation consultant. Don’t trust doctors with this, most are clueless about breastfeeding and will give actively harmful incorrect advice. My rough estimate is that 90% of women should be able to breastfeed without pain (if given correct advice and guidance), and the remaining 10% should just give up and use a breastmilk bank. In our well-fed modern society, overproduction is quite common. As a community we produce more way more breastmilk than we can use!
There are a lot of technical details, and getting them right matters. If done incorrectly, things can start to go wrong. If you correct this quickly, within the first couple days, you’ll be fine. The longer you let things go wrong, the worse it gets. Women who’ve been doing things slightly wrong and hurting themselves for many days are in for a load of trouble. The problems compound and become increasingly bad, and the recovery will be painful whether you decide to continue breastfeeding or not. Get help early and often!
A good quality breastpump makes a big difference. There are tons of shoddy ones, so getting advice on which ones are good is important. They can cost several thousand dollars, but are fully cleanable, so many women choose to rent (since they only need them for a year or two).
The first few weeks are indeed much more important. Aim to give breastmilk at least for the first couple months, ideally. Again, it doesn’t need to be your breastmilk, use a bank if needed!
If possible, talk with a lactation consultant before giving birth. There’s a lot of technical details to learn, and getting it wrong hurts! If you have had breast surgery, you definitely want to talk with a lactation consultant. A lot of plastic surgeons are clueless about mammary glands and unnecessarily mess stuff up in there. Another potential problem you might notice before giving birth is if your breasts are still smallish in the third trimester. There’s a chance you will underproduce milk, and you be prepared to have that be only a portion of your babies calories. You can supplement with a breastmilk bank and/or formula. Don’t use a standard bottle to supplement though if you plan to also breastfeed, instead you need to use things that won’t teach the baby bad nursing habits.
Any specific knowledge about colostrum? (Mildly surprised it hasn’t been mentioned in the thread.) Do breastmilk banks usually supply that, and is it worthwhile?