Breastfeeding: a miracle we sometimes have to learn
Why it is worth returning to what is natural — and where to find help when it does not come by itself.
When I was expecting my first daughter, I longed for natural breastfeeding. Somehow I assumed it would just come. It didn’t. At the start I had big problems, and nothing went the way I had imagined. It surprised me a lot. For some time, we had to supplement.
Videos and MAMILA’s support helped me. Step by step we managed it, and in the end I breastfed my daughter for many years. The same went for the two children who came after her.
Why it didn’t just happen
Only looking back did I realise why it caught me so off guard. I had no role models around me. In most European countries, people do not breastfeed in public, so we hardly ever see breastfeeding women. And our own mothers often did not breastfeed, or we were not breastfed ourselves. No wonder that in a first pregnancy we hope breastfeeding will simply come by itself.
On top of that, in gynaecology offices and often in maternity hospitals too, we hear sentences that are far from encouraging:
- “You won’t breastfeed anything from these breasts.”
- “Save them for your husband, there isn’t much there for a baby.”
- “Those nipples are inverted, they aren’t suitable for breastfeeding.”
- “Your breasts are too small.”
- “Your breasts are too big.”
Today I know that the idea that a nipple should look like a dummy is completely wrong. It is possible to breastfeed from any breasts unless there is a physiological obstacle on the mother’s side — and that is very rare.
Help is out there
Fortunately, today there are great organisations that support breastfeeding and also train lactation consultants. One of them is MAMILA, where I later took the lactation counselling course out of my own curiosity. Today I am a certified lactation consultant.
A lactation consultant will come to your home, or even to the maternity hospital. She helps with positioning and latching so that the baby gets enough milk. And she advises on other practical things too, such as carrying the baby in a sling or carrier, or sleep.
I see breastfeeding as a miracle of nature entrusted to us as mothers, and I believe it makes sense to return to what is natural. But it doesn’t always come by itself, and that is okay. If you are going through this right now, you are not alone.
This content is for information only and does not replace individual care from a midwife, doctor, or lactation consultant.