wars
In this, the third piece in a three-part series,
Brooke Chenoweth
explores the social stigmas
surrounding feeding your baby.
A
s mothers, our sense of
self-worth is closely tied to
our ability to care for and
nurture our children. This
begins during pregnancy and is at its
most powerful when breastfeeding, as
our babies rely solely on us for their
nutrition. An inability to breastfeed,
for whatever reason, can have a
devastating impact, as mother-of-two
Amanda discovered.
“
With both of my sons, I
desperately wanted to breastfeed.
But, despite trying what I felt was
everything under the sun, I was not
able to exclusively breastfeed either
of them due to low milk supply. With
my first son, I was so adamant that I
would breastfeed that I did not even
have one bottle or any formula in the
house when we brought him home.
Nearly four days after he was born,
my milk had still not come in and my
son would not sleep, and would scream
for hours on end. I was determined to
nurse all day if I had to – which I did.
“
For the next week, I would nurse
my son around the clock. Literally 24
hours a day, he was on my breast. If
he dozed off and I tried to take him
off the breast, he would wake and cry,
so I would have to put him on again.
My nipples were so red and raw and
cracked. It caused shooting pain to
feed, but I was determined. When
we went back to the paediatrician, I
was devastated to learn that my son
was still losing weight and had not
regained his birth weight.
“
After six weeks of agony, almost
no sleep, and finally giving in to one
formula-feed per day, I found myself
one morning in the throes of post-
partum depression. I could not get
out of bed, my son was crying next to
me and I just did not have the energy
or desire to feed him. My husband
took one look at me and decided he
was going to take the baby for the
day, feed him formula and send me to
see my doctor. It was a very difficult
decision, but I finally went on anti-
depressant medication and I also
decided to stop breastfeeding.
“
I struggled, as initially I felt
even more depressed when I stopped
breastfeeding, but after about three
days, the change in me and my son
was astronomical! He was finally
sleeping, and when he was awake and
well-fed, he was happy, smiling and
we could interact with each other. I
was also in the best state of mind I had
been since I gave birth. I felt as if a
dark cloud had been lifted and I could
finally see in colour again and enjoy
my baby!”
Under pressure
A recent
Time Magazine
cover featuring
a mother breastfeeding her toddler
with the title “Are You Mom Enough?”
was just one of many controversial
pieces about breastfeeding that have
been popping up in the media around
the world this year. Some claim that
too much pressure is placed on new
mothers to breastfeed, and that the
ideal doesn’t always meet the reality.
Then there are those who fight for
breastfeeding and its benefits, and
demand that healthcare professionals
and the media stop bombarding us
with the idea that choosing not to
breastfeed is OK.
When I started my research
for what I thought would be one
Playtimes
article about breastfeeding,
I requested input on an online forum
for Hong Kong-based mothers. I
the
milk
60
Playtimes