Breastfeeding problems? Don’t try to go it alone – get help and support
THERE ARE six heavily pregnant women and three men sitting in a semi-circle, hanging on every word that midwife and certified lactation consultant Clare Boyle utters about breastfeeding.
The small group of parents-to-be have opted to pay for a four-hour long breastfeeding class held in a Dublin hotel on a Saturday morning in advance of the birth of their babies.
The class is just one of many antenatal breastfeeding classes, run by certified lactation consultants (see alcireland.iefor full list) around the State.
“I have a lot of friends with babies who tell me ‘don’t worry if you go to bottle-feeding – breastfeeding is really hard’. The only friend who persevered with breastfeeding is one who did a breastfeeding class before her baby was born,” says Rachel Bramhall who’s here with her partner.
“I feel that I’ll leave this class thinking I can do this now rather than good on me for trying .”
Jessica Staines says that breastfeeding is something she always wanted to do. Both grandmothers-to-be breastfed.
“The problem is that . . . there is a presumption that it won’t work. Even some of the doctors say that if it doesn’t work after three weeks, you’ve done your best. They don’t say seek help if you’re having problems,” says Staines who opted for the day-long antenatal class in the maternity hospital alongside this breastfeeding class.
As well as explaining how to latch the baby on correctly, Boyle has the women practising the correct breastfeeding holds on dolls supported on breastfeeding cushions. She is adamant that the most important message to get across to them is to seek help when problems arise.
“Pick up the phone and call me or make contact with the La Leche League or Cuidiú – the Irish Childbirth Trust – before you have the baby so you’ll know who to contact if you run into difficulties,” she tells them.
Boyle is also convinced that women are more receptive to learning about how to breastfeed before the baby is born.
“Women find it easier to learn about breastfeeding while they are still pregnant because they are highly motivated and find it easier to concentrate than after the birth. Very often in the early days after the birth, mothers are quite overwhelmed and tired and can find it very stressful trying to take in all the information they need,” she says.
Olivia Johnson says that she came to the class because she was concerned that she wouldn’t be able to get enough information about breastfeeding while she was in hospital. “I think the midwives might be too busy, and I know women who struggled with breastfeeding and gave up quickly and others who got mastitis,” she says.
Boyle stresses that breastfeeding is a learned skill: you have to be gentle with yourself while you are getting the hang of it.
“The first three to six weeks are a huge learning curve and then it gets easier, easier and easier. It’s not a fragile process but you have to get to know your baby and if you follow your baby’s leads, you’ll learn what to do,” she says.
Michael O’Toole is one of the fathers at the class. He says he’s heard that different nurses and midwives offer conflicting advice. “The only thing I feel bad about is that I’ll miss out on some of the bonding with the baby. But breastfeeding is the best start you can give the baby, so it’s a small price to pay.”
Alison Doherty is the only non-first time mum at the class. Pregnant with her third child, she explains how she breastfed her first baby but had difficulties with her second.
“You do forget but it comes flooding back. I feel more confident now. You need to be determined and have an idea of what to do if it goes wrong.”
Dr Genevieve Becker, certified lactation consultant and national co-ordinator of the WHO/Unicef Baby Friendly Hospitals Initiative, says the key for mothers who breastfeed is to have contact with other mothers who are happily breastfeeding.
“Some women get this from support groups if they don’t have mothers in their families or their group of friends who are breastfeeding. The classroom setting appeals to some women and not to others.”
Becker adds that free antenatal breastfeeding workshops are also available in some maternity hospitals.
“One of the big changes in the last few years is that private antenatal classes – breastfeeding and other antenatal classes – are marketed more because some of the health insurance companies are paying for them. But you’ll find that there are fewer private classes where the public antenatal classes are working well,” she explains.
