Breastfeeding is a subject that can be so emotive and at times divisive between women, but World Breastfeeding Week aims to share information on breastfeeding, which helps women to make informed choices.
In reality, breastfeeding does not always get off to a good start and support is often lacking from family and professionals… We are told “breast is best” but like many of these overused terms, it becomes worthless without good education and support to back it up with all the ‘why’s and ‘how to’s.
Surely this education should start when we are children if we hope to normalise breastfeeding babies in our society!
Your Choices
Woman’s rights begin with a woman’s right to choose: having the power to choose what is right for her body, starting with pregnancy itself. Then we have a choice on how to birth – be it in water, at home, in hospital or an elected caesarean birth.
Then it is also her right to choose how to feed her baby, but what clouds this choice is too often a lack of education and support around breastfeeding.
It’s no wonder that women who thought they would breastfeed – but then endure weeks of pain and discomfort or frustration – feel an utter sense of release when a bottle is introduced and maybe a fussy baby becomes a calm baby or the pain and discomfort for herself end.
So sometimes, breastfeeding does not work out… sometimes it goes beautifully from the start, or becomes easy after the initial few weeks of settling into it. We should be able to enjoy and share that without making anyone feel bad. It is what it is.
And we should each choose what works – for ourselves and for our babies – and feel confident in those choices.
“Many women come to me who either chose not to breastfeed or it didn’t work out, but second time around make different choices and it it can all go so very differently,” explains Active Birth Centre’s postnatal expert, Lynn Murphy.
“Let’s educate and empower one another through sharing our experiences, knowing that another woman’s story will be different to our own. Let’s support and celebrate one another in these differences.”
