I used to work in neonates, and I don't think we treated mothers in hospital any differently because they chose to bottle feed (although breast feeding was encouraged, where possible). I think it may be worse in the community though, particularly with older, more traditional nurses. It's unnacceptable that women are made to feel that way though.

I found it in antenatal clinic (they were 'pushy' about the breastfeeding), the hospital... they made it quite a horrible experience, the health nurse that came to visit, the community health clinic, the nurse at the local GP clinic.... and this was with not just the older ones, but even the younger ones. Must be an Aussie thing... madness. There have only been 2 people in the last couple of months I haven't felt harrassed by. That is my perception as a mother though, and the experiences I have had with Alexis. I am sure it's different with everyone.

thats what i cant stand, its THOSE women who ruin it for the rest. Rediculous, its a form of bullying, too!! To outcast someone like that and judge and disrespect them in that manner. I'm glad my children don't have a mother like that. I care not who BF or doesnt. I FF but totally in the "give BF a try first" catagory buteven if someone hasn't tried it I really do not care!! so long as the baby is being fed thats all that matters!!!!!

Just out of interest Laura, why didn't you BF? Was it coz of the heparin?

Yeah.
Oh they say "it's fine" blah blah blah but in five years time they'll find something wrong with it!!!
like with the formula. All this time it's been fine to make them up adn put them in the fridge NOW they say you shouldn't... what?!
I don't agree with taking any kind of medication whilest bfing. I wish I didn't have to take those bloody antiemetics when I was pregnant as well. Never mind.

Some medications are safe when breastfeeding. It depends on things like the size and charge on the molecules contained within the drugs. Certain drugs can pass into breast milk, others just can't. Your doctor could have told you which ones were safe and which ones weren't.

as I said I don't agree with breastfeeding whilest being on meds. Sure they'll say this and that is safe but you can bet in a few years something that was safe will be linked to autism or whatever. Not worth the risk.

I had the same views. I was offered a couple of different meds that were said to be safe whilst breastfeeding, but I refused. It just wasn't a risk I wanted to take.

But it's based on physical impossibility. Large molecules cannot enter breast milk. It's impossible. That won't change. And the drugs which are considered safe have been PROVEN to not be present in breast milk because tests have been done on breast milk to clearly show they are not there when the mother has been taking them. Of course we're only talking about certain drugs. But certain drugs (your doctor could advise you which. It is not my place to do so.) are, and always will be, safe.

I'm not sure if your reference to autism is supposed to be comparing this situation to vaccines, but firstly, there is NO evidence that vaccines cause autism. Secondly, it's not the same thing. Tests can directly measure the amount of a drug in breast milk to see if it is possible for it to reach it or not. There is no such test for complications (real or not) of vaccines, because the issue is the consequence of the vaccine, not where it ends up. It is not measurable.

Look, ive been parenting for over 5 years so i've read exactly what you said more than Ive ever needed to. its my opinion, I dont agree with meds and breastfeeding and I am vaccinations number 1 fan. You wont find a bigger campaigner for vax than ME! The autism wasnt a reference just the first thing I thought of.

I also meant to say, it's fair enough if you decide to ignore the science and not take meds anyway (but continue breastfeeding and avoid the meds). That's your choice. But I think that not breastfeeding because you are taking drugs which have been proven to be safe doesn't make any sense, not when breastfeeding has so many health benefits for the baby. Just my opinion though.

I'll also add
it wouldn't have mattered though because I tried it before I started on the heparin about three times... did not like it. Wasn't the pain or the frustration, I just did not like that there was milk coming out of my boobs, it kept making me feel sick. Just a weird thing.

I don't understand that attitude. I nearly died because my mum persisted in trying to breastfeed me when her milk had dried up (she didn't know it had gone). Formula is infinitely better than starving.

1. Have you or would you breastfeed your own baby? Or, if you're a bloke, would you want your partner to breastfeed your child? Lily is 4 months old and i'm still breastfeeding. I went back to work 2 weeks after giving birth, though sometimes my boyfriend has had to give her a formula bottle for a feeding, due to me not being able to pump enough because I was called into work on such short notice.

2. What do you percieve to be the advantages or disadvantages? Advantages - It's free, the bonding, it's quicker than making a bottle -if you don't have problems or are using a nipple shield-, it's healthier for her. Disadvantages- in the beginning Lily had a really hard time latching so I was using the nipple shield for the first month, and it was a huge pain, and breastfeeding in public isn't really accepted here and i'm not that comfy doing it around my boyfriends friends lol. I'm back to work so I have to constantly pump, and I hate pumping, I have to pump at work during breaks MANUALLY, and that's an even bigger pain.

3. Did you start off breastfeeding and then get put off by the sleepless nights/sore boobs/engorgement and stop? If so, did you wish you hadn't? There were a few times in the first couple of weeks that I just wanted to give up, it was frustrating, especially when I would get engorged, it hurt like hell. I was sick a week and a half ago and I wasn't eating so my milk started to dry up and I was so scared I was done breast feeding but then I found this tea @ the health food store for nursing mothers and it helped my supply. Believe it or not I found a website that said oatmeal will help your supply and I gave it a try, and after 2 bowls of oatmeal my milk supply started to come back. So for the past week i've been drinking 2 cups of the Yogi tea, eating a couple bowls of oatmeal and pumping, now my milk seems to be back to normal 100%. I plan on BF as long as I can.

I have found that if I stop eating as much fatty food (mainly dairy, I eat a lot of cheese, yoghurt and milk), Jimmy wants more food. Apparently sage also helps boost your supply, although to be honest I think I have enough milk to feed several children, lol

Yeah, same here!! If I eat more salads, drink more water, and less dairy and even candy, Lily seems a bit hungrier during the day. Haha I still need a bit more help with my supply, I should try sage. HAHA you should sell your breastmilk.....

I kid, I kid.... some people do that though!

if you still need any help beer helps your supply. 1 beer should do the trick i would try it after lily is down for the night. then pump and dump once and u should be ok. also fenugreek (i got those at a vitamin health food store place) works well too.

Haha I did that a lot in the beginning, I just haven't boughten any beer in a week or two, come to think of it....lol it started to go down after I stopped drinking beer :-P i'll look into the fenugreek, too!

i used fenugreek and after one day my supply had like tripled. haha. the bad thing about it is it makes you smell like maple syrup. haha.

fenugreek worked for me too! i had it in a tea and had like 3 cups a day.. oatmeal helps as well.
x

FENUGREEK TOTALLY MAKES YOU SMELL LIKE CURRY, YO! I TRIED IT ONCE TO SEE IF IT WOULD MAKE MY BOOBS BIG - THAT IS WHAT IT IS SAID TO DO. APPARENTLY IT MIMICS OESTROGEN IN YOUR BODY.

Hmm, I wonder if that would interfere with progesterone based contraception, I might have a look, my boobs have become tiny since I went on the rod, so I hope it doesn't interfere then I might try fenugreek.

Also, fenugreek is used in curries :)

YES, YO - I KNOW! THAT IS WHY IT MAKES YOU SMELL LIKE CURRY. IT'S A COMMON INGREDIENT IN INDIAN COOKING. IT SHOULDN'T INTERFERE WITH CONTRACEPTION - OTHERWISE THERE'D BE SOME WARNING ON IT, YOU'D THINK. HOWEVER, I SHOULD WARN YOU THAT IT DID NOT MAKE MY BOOBS BIGGER AT ALL. I TRIED IT YEARS AGO, AND IT WAS A WASTE OF TIME, YO. ALTHOUGH LATELY MY BOOBIES ARE BIGGER THAN THEY'VE EVER BEEN, WHICH I ATTRIBUTE TO RED WINE AND DORITOS, BUT WHO KNOWS - IT COULD BE A DELAYED EFFECT OF THE FENUGREEK! ;D YOU CAN SPROUT FENUGREEK SEEDS TOO, YO. I'VE DONE THAT SOMETIMES. THEN YOU CAN ADD THE SPROUTS TO SALADS, AND IT'S VERY HEALTHY.

On my implanon leaftlet thing it says to consult a doctor before taking any supplement as many interfere with its effectiveness, like St john's wort definitely does, canesten tablets stop it working too which is annoying as I get thrush a lot.