Why mums aren't sticking with breastfeeding?

Go on to any online parenting forum and the discussion within the breastfeeding topics will be the most vibrant and generate the most traffic. For a function that mums are told is natural and normal, breastfeeding remains a divisive and emotive subject.

Many lactation experts, health professionals and mums agree: the current system of promoting breastfeeding isn’t working, with mums using words like “guilt”, “confusion”, “pressure” and “frustration” to describe their experiences.

The Federal Government is now working on rolling out a national breastfeeding strategy in a bid to encourage women to continue feeding for 12 months. In its report, the government claims an impressive 92 per cent of Australian women leave hospital breastfeeding, within one week only 80 per cent are fully breastfeeding and after six months that number has dropped to just 14 per cent. So, why aren’t mums sticking at it?

More support, less judgement for breastfeeders

Most parties believe that any new campaign should be targeted at the community as a whole rather than fully focused on mums. In announcing the Australian National Breastfeeding Strategy 2010-2015, Health Minister Nicola Roxon said that a “multi-faceted approach is needed to foster an environment that supports and enables mothers to breastfeed”.

Australian Breastfeeding Association (ABA) spokesperson Carey Wood agrees that some mums have felt under pressure in regards to breastfeeding and that the “breast is best” message has become a trite and unnecessary cliché.

“Most mums know the benefits of breastfeeding – but that is not going to support them while they learn to breastfeed,” she says. “Breastfeeding may be natural but it is a learned skill and there can be many hurdles to overcome along the way. Mums need support and information so they can make informed decisions on feeding their babies.

“Telling mums that it’s easy, or if they’re having problems that they’re doing it wrong, does not support, help or inform mums. Many want to breastfeed – and it’s society’s role to support them, give them the information and not judge the decision they make.”

Amanda Cox, director of parenting website www.realmums.com.au, agrees but claims also that it’s the experts “ramming” information and stridently pushing the benefits of the breast that are scaring women off feeding.

“Mums know that breastfeeding is best for their child. In the first few days of having a baby they are told this time and time again,” Amanda says. “By making breastfeeding so significant, they’re putting new mums under so much pressure and creating a fear of failure.”

Train the professionals

Carey Wood says the ABA’s focus is to have breastfeeding seen as a “normal” parenting decision – not a topic for such intense debate. She says it’s been shown in other countries that if society sees mums breastfeeding then it becomes the normal thing to do.

She also says that there needs to be some major changes in the community, and in the education of Australia’s health professionals to better support breastfeeding mums.

“Paid maternity leave will enable mums to establish breastfeeding before returning to work,” she says. “More workplaces need to become breastfeeding friendly, providing safe and hygienic places for mums to feed or express. And the health professionals who work with mums have to have a better knowledge of lactation and more training in providing breastfeeding support and information.

“Overseas strategies have shown that giving women information about breastfeeding, and preparing them, before they have a baby also has a very positive impact on breastfeeding rates.”

Keep breastfeeding in perspective

Amanda believes that the breastfeeding experts have a bit to answer for with Australia’s low retention rates. She says that they are spending so much time telling mums why they should feed when many mums just want to know how to feed, what to expect and to hear that it’s not always easy.

“Breastfeeding is not a single issue or a whole behaviour. It’s just a part of a whole package of being a mum, and a mum is a whole lot more than just a feeding machine,” she says.

“By reducing the significance of breastfeeding in the whole scheme of things we take the pressure off mums and breastfeeding just becomes normal.”

Her views are echoed by Carey: “What we need to remember, irrespective of how we feed our babies, is that there is so much more to raising a child.”

“My baby was starving”

Sydney mum Clarissa, 35, was desperate to breastfeed her son, Matthew, now two
“For three weeks I tried everything. I fed for 20 minutes each side then expressed for 10 minutes, each side. I sought help from breastfeeding experts. They told me to continue no matter what. But still my baby screamed. Even when he started losing weight I was told to persist. So I felt even more guilty. There were lots of tears. I couldn’t make enough milk to feed my baby. Every other mum seemed to be able to breastfeed but me.

Finally, I decided to ignore the experts and give my baby some formula. He stopped screaming, started sleeping and I stopped being so stressed. I still felt guilty. I still felt like I was a failure but at least my baby was happy.”

Clarissa is now pregnant with her second child and, while she’ll try to breastfeed again, she knows if it doesn’t work there are alternatives. “I’m still a good mum,” she says.

Country with best record for breastfeeding

Norway has by far the best breastfeeding rates of any country in the world – and this was achieved through a government-led campaign.

Today, about 99 per cent of mums leave hospital breastfeeding and 80 per cent are continuing to do so after six months. How did Norway achieve this?

❋ Most mums take a year’s maternity leave at 80 per cent pay (or 44 weeks at full pay).
❋ Breastfeeding mums at work can take up to two hours off a day to breastfeed at home or in the office.
❋ Flexible, part-time hours are available two months after giving birth with income supplemented from maternity benefits.