Hi, I was wondering if you could help me. I am a freelance journalist (and breastfeeding mother) who is trying to find out why the uptake of breastfeeding is so low amongst UK mothers. I would be really grateful if one of your experts would be willing to email me back. Also, do you know of any breastfeeding mothers who would be willing to talk about their experiences of breastfeeding – how the system helped, how it didn’t. I can be contacted via the above email address or by mobile on 07985 930 446. I’m trying to write this as a feature on the back of the government’s plans to axe the national breastfeeding week, so would be very grateful if somebody could respond as soon as possible. Thanks in advance. Sincerely Daria Neklesa
Daria Neklesa [neklesa.d@googlemail.com]
“Any old Cow” Short Sleeved T 6-12 months 
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“Any old Cow” Short Sleeved T 3-6 months 
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Hi Daria,
Im not sure if this will help you at all. I breastfed my son until nearly 15 months old when he self weaned. I am due a baby in July so not sure if the change in my milk turned him against breastfeeding. I was prepared to carry on going until he decided to give up, no matter how long that took. I will be doing the same with my daughter.
I am the only mother amongst all the mothers I meet up with that carried on breasfeeding. The most common reason for people giving up seems to be they didnt think they had enough milk to saisfy their baby (even though it has been documented that only about 3% of women really do have a lack of milk supply). Another common problem is their nipples were too sore to carry on.
Dont get me wrong, it was very tough going in the first 3 months of breastfeeding and I had a number of arguements with my husband and mother about giving up as it will be easier, but once I got through the first 3 months it was a breeze. It was so much easier having milk on tap when going out and not having to worry about sterilising bottles or waiting for formula to be at the right temperature.
I hope this helps with your research.
Yours faithfully,
Donna Sprintall
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Hi Daria – I have two children: the first was bottle-fed and the second exclusively breastfed.
For me, the difference in why that happened is all about support and expectations. With my first, the expectation from everyone around me was that it’s going to be hard, it’s not the end of the world if you ‘give it a go and you can’t', and formula is just as good. I was set up with the expectation that it probably wouldn’t work.. and so didn’t ask for support when I had problems. I knew ‘breast was best’ but not that breast is just normal!
Second time around, I got support when pregnant, changed my expectations to this is what my baby and my body expects and blocked my ears to anything that would make me think we couldn’t do it. We had many of the same problems the second time around, but with brilliant support, encouragement and a bit more information, we sorted it!
Would be happy to talk more if needed.
Justine
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hi daria,
im a disabled mum of 4, my first i mix fed as i didnt know any better then, my second was on prescription formula because of allergies and my 3rd and 4th were exclusively breastfed (my 4th is still breastfed) i9 trained as a doula after havign my daughter in 2007 and then as a breastfeeding peer supporter in 2008 and again in 2011 with a different company. i used to volunteer on teh maternity wards until my health deteorated so i am currently unable to do that at the moment but plan on going back once my health is better.
im ahppy to talk to you if you would liek to talk abotu the support side of things, lisa can give you my contact details.
sam
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I always know that I would breastfeed. I rememember my mum feeding my youngest sister so it was the norm for me. Also there are well documented health benefits for mum and baby, it is free (mostly), eco, is always sterile, always at the correct temperature and is always available. I couldn’t think of a reason not to.
I also set out determined to succeed. Things were slightly tricky in the early days with my first daughter, but I stuck it out and got support from the midwife and health visitor and then the local breastfeeding support group. And I am glad I did. I watched my niece crying for ten minutes from hunger, having to wait while a bottle was sterilised and the feed prepared. My own daughter would have been halfway through by then.
Yes, breastfeeding can be physically and emotionally hard, but as my children get older I think that it was one of the simpler parts of the parenting journey. They cry, you feed, they pee and poo and put on weight and all is well.
Compare that to, say, potty training. There are so many ways of doing it – one for each parent, grandparent, childcare practitioner, parenting guru, bossy old wifey on the bus. And then one again for each child. People will tell you your child is too old, too young, that you need a potty, a potty chair, you must go straight to the toilet, you can do it in a week, you can’t claim it is done for 6 months, buy pullups, don’t buy pullups, let them choose pants, give stickers, don’t give stickers, give them a sweetie if they wee on the potty, give them a sweetie if they don;t wee in their pants, go at their speed or they’ll be scarred for life, push them or they’ll never do it. And how do you know if you are doing it right? They never wet their pants but you take them every 10 minutes? They take themselves but they sometimes wet their pants? They never soil themselves but that is because holding on too long has led to constipation?
So, yes, it feels hard at the time, but at least you can do it sitting down.
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