I am often asked by moms and dads why it is that nobody at the hospital told them what I was able to tell them. It is large part is because of timing. The time spent at the hospital is short. The time is not enough to really see how breastfeeding is going. The time is not enough to see if patterns will develop. There are lots of moms and babies at the hospital so the time you get one-on-one is short and cramped. It is mostly just quick checks. And sometimes things actually look really good in hospital.
You get home and things start to go sour. This is not uncommon. This is why there are lactation professionals in the community, because this is where you will breastfeed the most. Yes, you breastfeed in hospital but you do not live & carry out normal life there, that is where you spend 24-48 hours, sometimes up to 5 or 7 days. Most mothers intend to breastfeed for a year, many longer than that. So, yes you need support in hospital, but it makes sense that you would have support and knowledge about breastfeeding in the community, the place you live and carry out your life. That is where you need to learn about breastfeeding and where you need to learn to make breastfeeding sustainable.
You learn the most about breastfeeding by learning what is normal infant behaviors and what is normal for breastfeeding. Once you know normal really well you can recognize abnormal pretty quick and know when to get help. So do some research and know who your community resources are. Let’s make a list together:
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