Breastfeeding Support in Aotearoa
My first experience with breastfeeding was not the baby & mother magazine interaction I dreamed it would be, in fact I believe it was my unrealistic expectation that may have interfered with my initial ability to connect with my baby straight away.
This is a remarkably similar situation for many modern mothers from all around the world, which raised a question in me. What has happened since we moved mothers from home births to clinical experiences? and when does the line start to blurr between safety and disrupting nature?
I think of mother animals in nature birthing and feeding their young with no lessons, clinical environments, and medication. I know it’s a lot more risky having a human baby, but if you were to interrupt a calf and its mother during this sacred situation you could affect the ability for the calf to bond with the mother and stop the process of feeding all together.
I feel this is happening to human mothers in clinical settings and cultures where breastfeeding is hidden under blankets and in cupboards where we cannot learn how to breastfeed from watching each other. This lost art has been hijacked by medical practices leaving women lost and drowning in a sea of emotions where they are set up to fail and then ridiculed for failing.
After reading a study done in the UK on breastfeeding support available for women, I went out and asked a group of New Zealand women how their experiences were with the maternity system. The results were almost identical, which is no surprise to me since our medical model is based off the British one. We only have to sit and watch the popular tv series “call the midwife” to see the evolution of how women helped women in their private society of motherhood, start to allow Drs, OBGYNs, nurses, midwives, paediatricians and anyone else who wanted a look in. These medical professionals became so involved that they began to disrupt natures process like a cow and its calf.
The mixed experiences from mothers regarding breastfeeding support differed between where they birthed and who was available to assist them.
Positive stories included birthing units where not many people were involved, and confident mothers were able to be guided by a lactation consultant or had a mother figure to assist them. Once they got the hang of it these mothers described breastfeeding as being “amazing” and “worth the effort” they also felt proud of themselves as breastfeeding was a way to connect with their baby.
Negative experiences were largely based around the psychological impact that stress had over their ability to feed. There was a common theme arising around the confusion between all the different medical advice and lack of support regarding lactation consultants in hospital settings. The painful experience of nipple cracking and breast infections was interfering with their desire to continue which brought on feelings of guilt, shame and failure due to the pressure put on the mothers to breastfeed.
As a mother, sister, daughter, and friend I have seen and experienced first-hand all types of situations where modern interventions disturbed nature. Breastfeeding is very much a psychological process that relies heavily on hormones and the right “environment” to happen. Anything negative or stressful can cause a change. Sometimes we cannot help life threating situations and we are grateful to have our baby arrive safe and healthy. This is not a place to make a woman feel bad for not breastfeeding or putting unnecessary stress on her. I have bottle fed and breastfed myself. We need to create environments for mother and baby to feel safe, loved and nurtured not judged, scared and guilty.
I do think there is a huge space for women to be educated on breastfeeding before baby is born and to open our tops, remove the blankets and come out of the closets so that a breastfeeding baby is a normal experience to witness. Leaving women until they have an infection, cracked nipples and a hungry baby to get support is too late sometimes. There needs to be more awareness regarding the poor breastfeeding support and bottle shaming in NZ’s clinical maternity settings and the change starts with us!
Help your fellow sisters and let us find a way to support other women or get a laleche league meeting going in your local area.
If you would like support around breastfeeding, nutrition and natural medicine please feel free to email me admin@balikaholism.co.nz
X Amber Ford
Dietrich, M. & Misskey, E. (2015). The psychological and emotional experiences of breastfeeding: reflections of mothers. Global qualitive nursing research , (2), 1-9, doi.org/10.1177%2F2333393615611654
