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An unexpected ending – Sara’s story

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Adding another person to our family was such a large step that nursing could be the one constant that he could hold onto. I knew that it was likely that my milk would dry up during pregnancy, and it did at 16 weeks. Reid kept nursing, though, seeming to know that life was about to change and wanting to stay as close to me as possible.

The best thing I have done! – Alexia’s story

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My gorgeous wee man was born at 37 weeks exactly. His suck was excellent despite being early and we tried to feed straight away. During the first few days I had a lot of difficulty latching him and blisters and sores started appearing on my nipples. I was sure this wasn’t right and asked for some help, but everyone said I was doing fine and to continue.

Self-loathing to love – Sarah’s story

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Before I became a mother there was one facet of my self-image that never changed: I loathed my breasts. I think the main reason is that they were popular with a sexually abusive relative I hated handling my own breasts, I liked to pretend they weren’t there. But I had done a lot of reading about the importance of breastfeeding, so even though I wasn’t keen on the idea of handling my own breasts and establishing another relationship with someone who thought my breasts belonged to them, I also knew that I had to give my baby the best start to life that I could, and that meant giving breastfeeding a go, even if it was going to mean confronting the sexual abuse of my past.

It pays to be persistent – Liz’s story

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Meanwhile, I was pumping and trying to build my supply so that I could nurse them when they were strong enough. At first, we were adamant that they not have pacifiers or bottles, but when the nurses said that bottle-fed babies go home sooner, I gave in. It was two days before they even were able to have the first drops of colostrum swabbed on their gums. Slowly, they started to be able to take little bits of my milk from a bottle nipple, once they were off the ventilators. It was five days before we got to hold Jonah, the stronger of the two. I kept asking when I could nurse them, but the nurses told me that it would make their oxygen levels drop, and they had to be on a certain type of ventilator, and all kinds of other excuses.

The things you do for love…. Sal’s story

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Almost from when A was born, he cried. Our poor little mouse. The first attempts to breastfeed were painful and difficult, he didn’t latch on properly and I can remember what seemed like an endless stream of midwifes thrusting by engorged breasts into his tiny red screaming mouth. Even when I got the hang of the positioning, his sucking felt like broken glass piercing the most sensitive part of my body. In desperation I started taking pain killers in order to feed him.