As breastfeeding mothers we need to take more responsibility for the promotion of the breastfeeding cause. Why? Because the birthright of every newborn child is her/his mother's milk. There are no two ways about it: Breastmilk IS the superior nutrition for infants, incomparable to artificial breastmilk (or 'formula' as it is called). A mother's milk is so superior to a.b.m. (artificial breast milk) that it is absurd to make a conscious decision to substitute anything for it.
Every day women all over the world either decide not to breastfeed (for whatever reason) or they are convinced by someone that they cannot succeed at breastfeeding and instead, they give their newborn babies inferior food because they believe it will somehow be easier or better. Many of the women who come to such a conclusion are not necessarily to blame for this decision. Often they are convinced by doctors, nurses, husbands, ill-informed mothers or mothers-in-law or friends that they have no milk, or the baby is not getting enough milk so they give up on breastfeeding. Other women are uninformed, uneducated about breastfeeding and do not know how to help their babies latch on properly. Still others may give up after receiving bad advice.
The pediatrician who examined my daughter the day after her birth told me, "Don't let her use you as a pacifier. Feed her every 2 to 3 hours and if she is not satisfied with that, give her a pacifier to calm her, but don't put her to your breast every time she cries." I didn't want my baby to get comfort from an artificial nipple, and I was perfectly okay with her being 'pacified' at my breast instead, so I ignored that doctor's advice. Going with my instincts and allowing her to nurse as often and as long as she wanted was the best thing to do. So many women are afraid to trust their own instincts and follow their own hearts. Experienced breastfeeding mothers need to reach out to new mothers to help them trust their nurturing instincts and cultivate their 'mother within'.
One way of doing this is just by directing women to good, trustworthy resources for support and information on breastfeeding. La Leche League is a fantastic source for help and support for breastfeeding and pregnant women. LLL suggests that pregnant women attend their first meeting even before the birth of their baby to get information and education on breastfeeding techniques and to establish a support source if needed in those first few days and weeks with their newborn. I found LLL to be tremendously helpful to me in the first few weeks after my daughter's birth. I must've called the LLL Leader every day for the first week with questions and she was always kind, patient and helpful. Once she just listened to me cry before I was even able to calm down enough to speak with her. If a breastfeeding mom needs help, LLL is the first place I would call.
