Nursing Is Natural

Breastfeeding is one of the most hotly and passionately debated subjects within parental circles today. It has widely been adopted within the UK as a symbol for switched-on, intelligent and I'm sorry to say, rather middle class parenting.

I have heard and read countless stories of women who have felt an almost tangible feeling of guilt and inadequacy at being unable to breastfeed, or being unable to continue breastfeeding for more than a few weeks.

But the plain fact of the matter is that breastfeeding is not the domain of only the well off and well educated. At it's heart, breastfeeding is just a simple biological function, designed to keep babies free from disease in their first few vulnerable months and to help them thrive.

That doesn't mean it is always easy however and for some mothers, the difficulty of breastfeeding can outweigh the health benefits.

I'm still breastfeeding at 9 months and although I don't have any plans to give up any time soon, I have struggled with my baby's slow weight gain, thrush and at times a low supply.

The benefits of breastfeeding however, are numerous and wide reaching. It protects against some childhood cancers, obesity, diabetes, general viruses and infections and there are even studies that demonstrate a link between extended breastfeeding beyond 1 year and intelligence levels. It would take a very strong and determined woman to decide that despite all the health benefits, she didn't even want to give it a go.

And yet, there are many such women who for various reasons decide that breastfeeding is something they simply do not wish to do, nor even to try.

I have had numerous conversations and debates with different people on the subject and I have come to realise that alot of the emphasis on breastfeeding; the technique of it, the biology of it, could be what puts so many people off. There are websites, books and classes too numerous to list, all designed to teach people how to breastfeed and to support women in doing it. This of course is a good thing. But there are no support groups teaching women how to mix up a bottle of formula.

I think this can often give the impression that breastfeeding is somehow the preserve of a certain type of women, one who is able through time and money to learn how to do it prior to giving birth. Rarely it is spoken of as just a natural biological function that naturally follows the birthing process.

De-mystifying it could well motivate many more women into giving it a go. I did some preparation for breastfeeding whilst I was pregnant. I bought a book and looked at some websites, but in my pre-baby state so much of it sounded alien to me. Latching on. Positioning. Let-down reflex. I couldn't possibly imagine myself doing it for the very simple reason that I had never tried. What I found after my daughter was born and began to feed was that breastfeeding really does just come naturally...it is just instinct. It helps of course to have support, it helps to know a few tricks. But when all is said and done, mothers and babies are more capable than they know of establishing a nursing relationship and sustaining it by just relying on their instincts and their strong emotional connection.

Breastfeeding is not necessarily easy and I know, as do many women, that at times it is battle to continue, especially during those first few frenzied months of a baby's life. But it is eminently worth it. And it is very do-able for the majority of women.

My motto is: breastfeeding is just like being pregnant and giving birth. It may be painful at times, it may not be easy. But ultimately a woman's body and her baby know just what to do.