Why breast-feeding goes wrong

The first thing that became obvious to me very early on when working with new mothers is that, while breast-feeding may be the most natural way to feed a newborn baby, for all mothers it does not come easily. Immediately after the birth, midwives encourage mothers to put their baby straight to the breast, and guide them through the techniques of positioning and latching the baby on. For some mothers their baby will latch on to the breast easily, feed well and then drop off to sleep easily until the next feed. For others the baby will fuss and fret, fight the breast or take several sucks before falling asleep. These problems are all very common in the early days. Mothers are now discharged from hospital within 48 hours of giving birth, and many are sent home without having grasped the basic latching-on techniques that are essential if breast-feeding is to be a success. When I worked as a maternity nurse I would often arrive at a family’s home to find a mother with nipples that were so cracked and bleeding that she would be in tears every time she put the baby to her breast. In situations like this, breast-feeding and bonding get off to a very bad start for both mother and baby. The mother is in a lot of physical pain and also suffers mental agony, thinking she is not a good enough mother because her baby is not latching on properly. The baby gets stressed and cries a lot through hunger, because he is not feeding well enough. All of these problems, and many others associated with breast-feeding, could be avoided if more attention and help were given to the mother in the early days.

I am alarmed by some of the advice being given to new mothers in this country today regarding feeding their newborns. They are told within hours of giving birth that they should use their natural instinct and that their baby will let them know what he needs. I have been fortunate enough to have worked with many families in the Far East and Middle East, where they sometimes seem to know more about what really matters in the early days after the birth, i.e. that both mother and baby need as much help and support as possible. The attitude of families from these countries is often totally different from the one we adopt in this country. The mother and baby spend the early days getting as much rest and sleep as possible, and mothers eat a special diet to ensure that they are eating enough of the right foods to help produce a good milk supply. Babies are not just thrust upon their mothers’ breasts then left, because ‘mother and baby will both do what comes naturally’. Whether it was from a professional outside source as well as myself, or members of the extended family, the mothers with whom I worked usually had someone to help them with the latching on and feeding position in the early days.

I believe passionately that the way to ensuring more mothers breast-feed successfully is to give them help in the early days. While breast-feeding does come naturally to many mothers, it does not come naturally to all, and we need to take this into account when we give advice.

How milk is produced and the composition of breast milk will also help you understand how the CLB feeding routines can and will work with breast-feeding, provided that you follow the advice on adjusting the routines to meet increased demand during growth spurts, or at times when your baby has not taken a full feed. The following brief summary gives an overview of how breast milk is produced. For more in-depth information I would recommend that you read What to Expect When You’re Breast-Feeding … And What If You Can’t? by Clare Byam-Cook.