I usually have the breastfeeding conversation with my patients sometime around 6-7 months of pregnancy. This is when most women start thinking about their pending delivery and everything that will happen after their baby’s arrival.
During my breastfeeding conversation we address all the potential issues that could interfere with a successful breastfeeding experience. We also talk about all the tricks that will help her hang in there when her breastfeeding journey is a little rocky. Here are five tips I share with my patients who plan to breastfeed:
1. Attend a breastfeeding class before baby gets here. Most of us think about a birthing class but make time for a breastfeeding class. It will help take away some of the anxiety and fear about breastfeeding.
2. Discuss any physical issues that may interfere with your abilities to breastfeed. Breast augmentation, breast reduction, nipple inversion, physical disabilities can all interfere with a positive breastfeeding experience.
3. Enlist your partner as your breastfeeding champion. When well-meaning family members, and strangers start questioning your decision to breastfeed or how long you are choosing to breastfeed, etc, your partner should be your first line of defense. So make sure you’re both on the same page so he can be just as vested in your breastfeeding journey as you are.
4. It takes three to breastfeed: you, your breast and your baby! It does indeed take three to breastfeed. You have to be committed to give it a real effort and be patient with the process. Your breasts have to produce milk successfully and finally baby has to latch on properly. So what does this mean: it means it may take some times before you successfully breastfeed so be patient with yourself, your body and your baby.
5. Keep an open mind and be good to yourself. For some of us, breastfeeding is a breeze, for others it’s like squeezing water from a stone! We go into motherhood with an ideal of the type of mother we want to be. It’s the same for breastfeeding, no one anticipates the low milk supply, the sore nipples, the mastitis. So be open to the experience and be good to yourself, i.e. don’t compare ourself to anyone. No two pregnancies or breastfeeding journeys are the same.
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