There are so many breastfeeding myths that you hear, and you do sometimes wonder where on earth they come from!! So here I am to try my best at dispelling breastfeeding myths!
Here are just a few…
Myth 1: Frequent nursing leads to poor milk production, a weak let-down response and ultimately unsuccessful nursing.
Breastfeeding your baby is supply and demand, the more that you feed, the more milk you will produce, if you do find your milk supply dropping, up the amount of times you put baby to the breast and check out these 5 natural ways to increase milk supply quickly
Myth 2: A mother only needs to nurse four to six times a day to maintain good milk supply.
Sometimes mums will nurse four to six times per day, other days she will nurse many more times than this, it depends on when baby needs a feed, especially around the times of growth spurts, where cluster feeding is very common and may feel like you have spent all day and night feeding!!
Myth 3: Babies get all the milk they need in the first five to ten minutes of nursing.
As my midwife always says, sometimes babies will want just a drink, other times they will want a three course meal, with coffee and mints to finish, there is no hard and fast rules on breastfeeding your baby, you just have to follow your instincts and listen to the little one.
Myth 4: Breastfeeding mothers must always use both breasts at each feeding.
Babies decide how much milk they require, sometimes one breast, sometimes two, on occasions they may return to the first one again, there really is no hard set rules, just go with the flow.
Myth 5: A mother must drink milk to make milk.
A mother can drink milk, to quench her thirst, or any other liquid refreshment, because you do get extremely thirsty whilst breastfeeding, and mums need to replace lost fluids, but it certainly doesn’t have to be milk.
Myth 6: Mothers who hold their babies too much will spoil them.
Heard this so many times throughout my mothering years, mainly from the older generations that were told to put baby down and let them cry or leave them out in the fresh air. That baby has been inside you in a warm snug environment for nine months, coming out into the world must be a huge shock! I have held and cuddled all of my children lots and not one of them is a clingy shy child, they are all extremely independent and outgoing children.
I am sure there are lots more that you have heard, but these were just a few I have encountered, but there are plenty of benefits to breastfeeding
As a peer supporter so many mums come to us saying they have had mastitis/thrush/blockages and their DR has advised them not to feed from the affected breast…..argh! this can cause such a disruption to the breastfeeding relationship and stress both mum and baby out so much.
A mother must drink milk to make milk.
Not to eat grapes because it dries the breast milk up! It didnt with mine x
I was told not to get upset or stressed out my milk would dry up! (It didn’t)
I was also told that I had to drink milk to make milk (cows don’t LOL!)