Emma Pickett - Youve Got it in You: A Positive Guide to Breast Feeding

Youve Got
It In You:

A Positive Guide
to Breastfeeding

Emma Pickett

Copyright 2016 Emma Pickett

The moral right of the author has been asserted.

Apart from any fair dealing for the purposes of research or private study, or criticism or review, as permitted under the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988, this publication may only be reproduced, stored or transmitted, in any form or by any means, with the prior permission in writing of the publishers, or in the case of reprographic reproduction in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency. Enquiries concerning reproduction outside those terms should be sent to the publishers.

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eISBN 978 1784626 563

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Contents

Authors Note

The title Youve Got it in You obviously refers to two things. Youve got the breastmilk actually physically literally IN you. Even if you dont exclusively breastfeed for whatever reason, even if you have tiny amounts of glandular tissue and have had some breast surgery, you will produce some milk. Every millilitre counts.

And youve got it in you. You have the determination and commitment to give breastfeeding the best chance possible. When breastfeeding doesnt go to plan, it will be your inner strength that keeps you going and hopefully helps you to overcome the hurdles along the way.

And my son, the eldest of my two breastfed children, came up with the title.

Illustrations and front cover design by Estelle Morris http://www.estellemorris.co.uk/

Introduction

Lets remember that for most families throughout history, breastfeeding has been straightforward, normal and easy. Its just what happens after the giving birth bit. It isnt complicated. It isnt scary. Its not something we hope will work and we need to give it a go. Among all the millions and billions of women who have given birth in history, few imagined that for even one moment that it WOULDNT work. Of course its going to. Our bodies can make a baby. Why on Earth would the producing milk bit not work? Thats a heck of a lot less complicated.

You may be worried about breastfeeding. You may be worried that it might not work. This is a common feeling when you live in a society where breastfeeding is often sabotaged by incorrect information, patchy support from a stretched health service and powerful messages from formula companies. But its not a feeling that is entirely logical. We are mammals. We get our name from the dangly milk-producing bits. It defines us.

Among all the millions and billions of women who have given birth in history, few imagined that for even one moment that it WOULDNT work of course its going to work. Our bodies can make a baby. Why on Earth would the producing milk bit not work? Thats a heck of a lot less complicated.

I want you to read this book and other books and websites and get informed and I also want to give you a sense of confidence that this is probably going to work if you want it to. Its very likely to. If we positively prepare to breastfeed, our mental state is in a good starting position. I would like you to be as well-prepared as possible. I would like you to breastfeed for as long as you want to and as happily as possible. I want you to feel supported.

I have been a breastfeeding counsellor with the Association of Breastfeeding Mothers ( www.abm.me.uk ) since 2007 and an IBCLC (International Board Certified Lactation Consultant) since 2011. I have been volunteering on the National Breastfeeding Helpline since it opened in 2008 and have spoken to more than 1800 callers. I have been volunteering at three drop-in groups a week in North London since 2007 and visit new families in their homes and sometimes in hospital. Ive seen a lot of tears from people who are struggling to make breastfeeding work.

Ive seen a lot more tears from people for whom breastfeeding WAS working but they just didnt know what was normal or how life with a new baby was going to go. Information helps.

The beginning of this book is structured as a timeline. There are things that I would like you to think about when you are pregnant and as each month passes certain issues are likely to crop up. Later on there are some tidbits you may dip into as you go along.

Everyones experience is different. Everyones baby is different. Any book that tells you that you MUST breastfeed for X number of minutes should be thrown across the room right now. Or a book that tells you that you can control your baby so that they will want to feed every three hours and if you cant manage that, youre doing something wrong.

There is one universal truth: your baby is a person too. This new little person is coming to share your life and they have their own biological urges and their own needs and they cannot be entirely controlled. Nor should we want to control them. We will fill them with love and they will fill us with love. It might not always feel that magical and at times it will feel incredibly tough. If I tell you that, it doesnt mean Im not being positive. I am not going to make this sound like a walk in the park in some attempt to convince someone who may be unsure to breastfeed. I want you to be realistically prepared. I want you to understand when things might get hard and how to deal with them. If we know whats normal, it goes a long way to helping us cope with the first few weeks and months.

Ive seen a lot more tears from people for whom breastfeeding WAS working but they just didnt know what was normal or how life with a new baby was going to go.

Some of this new life will be about flexibility and responsiveness and acceptance. If you are used to a world of schedules and decisions and goals, it may be a bit of a shock. Learn about human biology before you think it sounds bit too scary. Babies are the products of millions of years of evolution and we are too, if we can just tap into our instincts and trust them a little bit.

Success comes when we tap into those instincts and when we know when to get help when our instincts arent answering all of our questions.

Can everyone who wants to breastfeed make it work? No. It may not work out for every single person. Not everyone may be able to exclusively breastfeed due to medical issues. Most of these people can give their baby breastmilk though and Ill talk this through as well. And lets not start this journey by imagining youll be someone who wont make it.

Youre Pregnant

For most women, there is no decision to breastfeed. It seems obvious. It takes a tiny bit of googling to read the research articles on SIDS, allergies, diabetes, obesity, breast cancer, hospitalisation in the first year of life, diarrhoea, respiratory infection, ear infections and so on. However not many women decide to after reading scientific research. It just feels like the right thing to do for many of us. We can see from statistics that starting off breastfeeding is the norm for the current generation of new mums. In England, 74% of mothers initiate breastfeeding after birth. You may be in an area where that figure is a little less or dramatically higher.