Following on from our recent story on new research carried out by NUK, about women's experiences of breastfeeding, we're featuring a series of case studies from different women.
Louise Cook is 35 and mother of mother of Tabitha, aged 4 weeks.
"I joined the NCT whilst pregnant with Tabitha, and it was made clear from the outset that 'breast is best', particularly for the first three weeks, when the milk is so full of natural antibiotics. I was confident that this shouldn't be a problem for me and decided that at three weeks I would move to a mixture of breast and bottle feeding, so that my husband Niall could ensure he was involved. Unfortunately, this was not to be.
"Tabitha was born weighing 11 pounds, a beautiful and healthy baby and I was keen to get started with breast feeding straight away. It turned out to be a lot more difficult than I had ever envisaged, with neither me nor Tabitha able to get comfortable. After ages with a midwife trying to help her to latch on, she finally did so, only for me to realise that my milk wasn't coming through. Her increasing hunger was naturally distressing her - and me - so I took the decision to feed her with formula whilst we waited for the breast milk to arrive. This took a whole week, and I was concerned that she wouldn't want the breast milk - although my fears were unfounded on this. She was very happy to try and feed from my breast, but I just wasn't producing enough, so in order to ensure that she stayed happy, we made the decision to stop trying to breast feed and continue with the bottle.
"Naturally, I am disappointed that I wasn't able to breast feed - I had assumed that it would be easy and it never occurred to me that I may not be able to do this for Tabitha.
It was absolutely heart-wrenching for me to see my baby so upset at not being able to feed, and I did feel like I was a terrible mother for not being able to provide her with what she needed.
“In terms of support from the midwives, I received quite a bit of conflicting advice. One was very supportive of whatever decision I wished to come to, whilst another was extremely prescriptive, and adamant that I keep trying, which made me feel like I was a bad mother even to be considering other options. It was also frustrating that they didn't seem to be speaking to one another.
“Four weeks on, Tabitha is thriving, and I don't regret my decision. Of course I am disappointed that I couldn't breast feed as I did really want to, and I must admit to a bit of worry as to how this decision will be viewed in the eyes of other mothers. But overall, looking at how happy and healthy Tabitha is, I'm content with the decision I made."
If you have any problems or questions, or an experience you want to share, you can always join us in the ThinkBaby forums.
You should also talk to the health visitors at your baby clinic - whilst the WHO advice to health workers around the world is that breastfeeding is good practice, health visitors must accept that for some women this is either a problem or impossible. They may be able to put you in touch with other women who are going through the same issues as you.
NUK make various products - from nipple shields to feeding bottles - which can help make breastfeeding easier, smooth the transition to bottle feeding, enable you to combine both or opt for formula bottle feeding, in as natural a way as possible. Their website has some great advice on feeding. Go to www.nukbaby.co.uk.
