Jamilton's Profile

Aaargh! I too have trouble with the hard line that lactation consultants & La Leche league take on breastfeeding as indicated in this article. I agree that breastfeeding has benefits but mothers struggling with breastfeeding also need to hear that it's OKAY to make the choice to not breastfeed. I am proud that I successfully breastfed my son for 9 months despite spending the first month breastfeeding, pumping and then supplementing with breastmilk in a bottle at each feeding every 3 hours on the dot (or more often) for my little preemie. That translates into sleeping for a maximum of 2 hours at a time and being engaged in feeding activities for at least 8 hours of the day. In retrospect, it sure would have been nice if someone said, "don't make yourself crazy, enjoy your baby, he'll do fine on formula" but the pressure from the nurses & LC's to breastfeed meant I didn't even feel this was an option at the time. There's enough pressure on new moms as it is, and these LLL folks need to be supportive and not so judgemental. Whew...rant over.