Naughty i used the breast but anyway.
Im not a mum or married or anything but There was a programme here in the UK about breast feeding and whether its better for your child, why women chose to or dont chose to do it and sometimes the difficulities surrounding it. Here are some of the issues that came up.
Is breast best? Why?
did anyone chose not to breast feed?
Did anyone not breastfeed due to difficulties?
For those of who didnt breastfeed for whatever reason do you ever feel guilty?
Re: Breast is best.
Breast feeding is natural and highly recommended by doctors. It saves kids from some SIDS (Sudden infant Death Syndrome). It saves mom from Breast cancer. Breast milk is easier to digest. There r many advantages, you can Google em.
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Here are the problems desi moms usually have, **
Solutions
Dont be shy tell you cousins, Siblings, Husbands relatives (its time to feed baby can you please give me some space) do it for ur kid
Its hard to keep up with household chromes and breast feeding. Use Breast pump some of them r expensive but some r usually on sale you can get em for under 100 bucks. http://www.amazon.com/Evenflo-Comfort-Select-Performance-Electric/dp/B001H0GF38
Store the milk in fridge, when you wana feed the baby take the desired amount out and feed warm it.
You can’t warm breast milk in microwave or Stove. This is how you store breast milk
http://babyfit.sparkpeople.com/articles.asp?id=429
You have to tell ur husband that he is equally responsible for baby too. try not to fight instead make him realize how he will never have this time again. His baby is young and baby needs his time attention.
I dont know what to say here, Talk to ur doctor bfr ur baby and ask him for tips. If mom doesn’t generate milk or baby doesn’t want it. It isnt ur fault u tried ur best.
There r really nice tubes out there that will help ur breast scars go away. Concern ur doc if u have any scars on nipples they can help.
Re: Breast is best.
We've had a couple of threads on this topic before...but it's been a while.
Re: Breast is best.
The show i was watching bought up the issue of guilt alot, amongst mothers who chose not to or couldnt breast feed their child.
Why was this?
Re: Breast is best.
Someone else may be able to shed light on that inspiron. But it could be due to various reasons such as not being able to produce enough breask milk for medical reasons, or perhaps a time committment issue.
Re: Breast is best.
We've had a couple of threads on this topic before...but it's been a while.
me too. Because of surgical complications I could not breast feed for more than 8 weeks. I have many friends that breast feed till their child was 2. Some did not altogether.
It's the best but the alternatives are the next best thing which are not that far away.
Re: Breast is best.
Breast milk is especially tailored to your baby's need and thats why its best to breastfeed. That being said I do have a huge problem with the stigma people but on moms who formula feed their baby. My son is 7 weeks old and I have been breastfeeding and often pump for the convienience.....recently we went to a dinner at a family friends house and I took out the bottle to feed him and one of the aunties asked me why I was giving him formula, I explained it was pumped milk and then she proceeded lecture her DIL for 15 min. Apparently her DIL is formula feedind and she kept saying to her that if I can commit to breasfeeding then her DIL should be able to as well.
Although breast is best and I do think that all moms should try it, but that being said I think we do tend to be harsh on women who don't.
Re: Breast is best.
I don't know if it's just the case in my family or if it's a desi thing, but I was constantly told not to expect to be able to nurse exclusively. No one really believed it was possible, including my mother and nani and such. And MIL constantly said that I shouldn't be feeding more frequently than every 3 hours, so if she still seemed hungry, I felt it was my fault for not producing enough. And since I had little faith in myself, my milk came in late, and I didn't think I would be able to do it. The thing with nursing is that if the baby is sucking and you are generally healthy and hydrated, it's all about supply-and-demand. The more you do it, the more you make. So the minute you start thinking you haven't made enough and supplementing with formula, the less frequently you will nurse and therefore the less milk you will make.
Anyway, I always supplemented with 1-3 bottles per day, and I didn't mind. There was a period when she first started solids where she only nursed and had solids, no formula. But then I found it became very difficult to go anywhere, because she wouldn't take anything from the bottle once she was out of the habit. So I started making sure that she had at least one bottle a day, and it allowed us to be social, normal human beings. That was important for all of us. I managed to nurse her for a year, supplementing with some formula, until we transitioned to cow's milk.
This is a very personal issue. I think women should definitely try to breastfeed and persist for that first month or so, supplementing if needed. Ideally for longer than that. But if it's not happening, it's not happening. And it's more important to have a happy, well-fed baby and be a happy, healthy, calm mama.
Feeding has got to be the most stressful part of motherhood.
Re: Breast is best.
Breastfeeding brings back really hurful memories for me. I remember when my little girl was born oh did i try to breastfeed or what! i had lots and lots of milk but she didn't want to latch on...i also had lots of help from midwives, lactation consultants and aunties but baby just didn't want to know.
I cried and tried and cried and tried but nothing...i was so upset...my husband was upset that i was upset and it was just a hearbreaking time for me...and i just had to finally admit that this wasn't going to happen...so i had a choice either i let baby starve or i get on with it and give her formula. Midwives and lactation consultants all told me i was doing everything just right...it wasn't how i was doing it....it was baby she just didn't want to know.
Anyway i'm pregnant again and im praying that this time it works...im very well prepared and know what to do...inshallah this time baby will latch on. But after i went through this experience i did realise that i wasnt the only one and that many many people experience the same issues.
i do feel guilty but there isn't anything else i could have done about it.
Re: Breast is best.
My story is exactly the same as sparrows… It gave me ppd… I was hell bent on bfeeding whilst everyone told me to not bother… Formula babies live just as well as non for ula babies… But i dont know… I thought bBies are born with the knowledge of sucking…
Mine couldnt be bothered to work … He expected his mouth to touch my nipple and for milk to just start flowing…
After 2 months of constantly trying on my part and a very hubgry baby, i went the formula route. Bhaar mein jao.
Now that he is older…it all makes sense… He still doesnt chew his food all that much, swallows, has zilch pateince for edibles with skin and so doesnt bother with them unless i peel the items first, its uncanny… The kid will not work hard for his food :d
Im pregnant again… And i hope im lucky this time around … The baby better cooperate!!! Verna 
Do i feel guilty? Nopes… All i felt was anger towards midget… A room full of women bfeeding and i was the only one crying and struggling wi god knws every single position in the vook, wsiting for e baby to latch on… But nopes… Im sure some women would have felt there was something wrong with them… I just felt resentful towards the lil guy for bwing so dheet and not sucking!
On a side note… Mom was visiting from arabia and she was schocked to see that babies arent given the bottle at all here at the hospital… I thought duh, it would confuse them when they bfeed… But she says its a part of the newborn wxp and system for arabia since donkey yrs… Baby is born… Mom bfeeds… Baby is taken away for the whole night so mom can rest…and if babe gets hungry during the night, either give em pumped milk or formula. But mom normally isnt disturbed
She was very confused at the hoopla made bout baby needing mom, the need to latch immediately, no bottle etc.
Maa araam kub karegi bhai!!! She said this every night upon realizing a nurse wont be coming to take away midget to a nursery… Infact there IS no nursery 
And its true… She had us 4 there… All my friends were treated that way When they were babies… And we all took to bottle and breast as if it was natural…
Re: Breast is best.
khawa, my mom said similar stuff. it may be a generational shift.
Re: Breast is best.
I only realized after having a baby how stressful BFing can be.
I breastfed for 5.5 months but then somehow the supply diminished and/or my daughter started to plainly refuse the breast.She wanted the bottle.Before that I was supplementing her with a few ounces of formula every day and rest I was feeding her myself.
It was so frustrating not being able to feed her.She used to fuss so much that it was horrible.
I did all the desi totkas I could.Consulted my doctors and lactation consultants,rented the hospital grade pump (before that I had the other one) ...but it was if she did not want it and I did not have it.
Very sadly though I had to realize that I cant possible starve her and I had to let go of BFeeding after 5.5 months.
Feeding a baby is indeed very stressful..!!
Re: Breast is best.
Like always say to my wife, them things are my breast friends, HAAAHH!!!
Re: Breast is best.
I cannot relate to the problems as I never had any, it was all very easy, baby was laid and then there was no stopping, hope I am not jinxing myself this time.
Re: Breast is best.
Yikes, I had no idea breastfeeding was so difficult. I thought it was very natural just like pregnancy. The baby does know how to suckle and I thought you just put the baby against the breast and he/she starts feeding!
Did you guys consult lactation consultants for help? Who taught you how to have the baby latch on, how often you're supposed to feed, how to take care of your breasts so they don't hurt etc?
Re: Breast is best.
Our hospital had lactation consultants and classes. I called regularly.
part of the trouble was the Bunny was 5 weeks early, I was ill, and had a c-section. but I did manage to feed, but my milk didn't come in till day 5. until then it was a lot of confusion and stress and sobbing.
Re: Breast is best.
Aoa.. Agree wid all,bfed is js lyk a nightmare 4me also,i had c section n baby got sm infction at the tym of birth so was in nursry for 4days n she was on botle feed there, aftr coming baq home i tried to bfed her bt all in vein..
Re: Breast is best.
She is 43 days now mashaALLAH, all i wana kn0w is there any way tht i can make her bfed?
Re: Breast is best.
Just keep trying... Get help from a lactation clinic.... But its been quite a long time now since u havent bfed... Is ure milk still coming? Baby may be too set on e bottle by now...
Re: Breast is best.
She is 43 days now mashaALLAH, all i wana kn0w is there any way tht i can make her bfed?
my doctor told me that someone she knew didn't nurse for the first three months, and then decided to start after that, drank some herbal tea to help stimulate milk production, and was producing tons of milk!