It's so easy! Until it's so hard ...
By Ann Seacrest, RN, IBCLC, Executive Director of MilkWorks
Some mothers and babies take to breastfeeding like a duck to water. They gracefully dance through latching and milk supply and returning to work like experts. But many mothers and babies find that breastfeeding is not the easy swim they thought it would be.
Lactation consultants know this. It is why MilkWorks exists. Yet an on-going dilemma in the breastfeeding support world is: how do we portray the reality of what breastfeeding might be like, yet believe in a woman’s ability to breastfeed?
I taught childbirth classes and was a doula for years. In my opinion, birth is an amazing experience. Yet every time I showed a class of expectant parents a childbirth film, I could see them squirm as the mom sweated and groaned and cried out. There was nothing dignified nor easy about giving birth. Yet I loved supporting parents through childbirth just because of that.
If we make childbirth (or breastfeeding) look easy, and a mom has challenges, do we let her down? Does she feel as though something is wrong with her because it is not easy and natural?
If we acknowledge that breastfeeding is hard for many moms (for many different reasons), do we scare moms away? Or make women sound like they are sissies?
We get feedback on both sides of the coin.
