"Breastfeeding Support"

The Breastfeeding Support Fife has been an invaluable help during my difficult breastfeeding journey. So often we are told Breast Is Best without the adequate support network, which leaves mothers feeling overwhelmed and in pain. The team was helpful, and provided me with home visits, support via phone, and a pump as well. Having someone to contact during the hardest times was invaluable.

I did not, however, appreciate being told by one of the workers that if I didn't conceive through IVF and if my breasts developed normally I should not have issues producing milk. It was dismissive of my experience, hurtful, and scientifically incorrect. After 2 very hard months of trying my absolute best to breastfeed (plenty of water, eating galactagogues, nursing around the clock including at night, skin to skin, correcting painful latches as much as possible, etc), and seeing my baby dangerously lose weight, I had to accept the hard truth: I have low supply. No keep baby on the breast could have fixed that. I'm now combo feeding my baby (pumped breast milk + formula + nursing). Baby, and mom, are thriving.

I wish there was a more holistic and flexible approach to breastfeeding. The pressure to exclusively breastfeed had a very negative effect on my mental health (low mood, anxiety, insomnia). It would have been helpful to know from the beginning that it doesn't have to be all or nothing, and that formula can be a support tool (and it's not the enemy). It would have allowed me to relax and enjoy those precious first months more.

The communication between GP, paediatrician, health visitor, and breastfeeding support was very poor. We kept being given conflicting advice from these different sources, which made things much more difficult. In the end I had to decide myself what the best course of action was. This was mostly based on the advice from the paediatrician.

Overall, I'm grateful for the Fife Breastfeeding Support. Talking with moms from other areas, it sounds like it's one of the best in Scotland. I believe we need to keep supporting it, and funding it. I do feel that it would benefit from more accurate medical knowledge, and from better communication with the overall health network (GP, pediatricians, health visitors). I will keep feeding my baby the milk I'm able to produce for as long as I can, and that's also thanks to their support!