WORLD BREAST FEEDING WEEK

COMPARING BREAST FEEDING TODAY WITH THE 1980's

When our first baby was born in December 1980 I tried breast feeding him whilst in hospital with out any luck.  I felt like I wasn't given very much help and our son was a very sleepy baby as he wasn't well. After giving birth the baby was taken into a nursery where they basically stayed all day and just brought to you at feed times.  So there wasn't any of the bonding like these days when you room in.  My doctor told me we couldn't go home until I had established breast feeding which was such a struggle. After a very long stressful week where I felt like a failure I was told  we could go home but the doctor gave me an injection to dry up my milk first. This was so disappointing as Bruce and I had discussed that once we arrived home in a more relaxing atmosphere our breast feeding would probably establish.   Sadly I had to feed our son on formula and wasn't given enough encouragement to breast feed him and give him a better start to life.  Our son will be 30 this year (boy that makes me feel old) and he has had so many health issues his whole life which may have been avoided if we could have breast fed.

Our second baby Jen was born in June 1982.  We asked before I gave birth if I could breast feed her on the delivery table to establish our breast feeding journey from the very beginning.  We were told 'No, babies are too tired after their birthing experience and they wouldn't want to be breast fed and don't need anything straight away.' So Jen was whisked away after a short cuddle and taken to the nursery to be weighed and measure.  Even though Jen was born at 4.30pm, I was kept in the delivery suite all night as I was hemorrhaging quite heavily due to the placenta not being delivered properly. Jen was kept in the nursery overnight to 'give me a rest'.  so it wasn't until the following morning when I was transferred to the maternity ward that I was able to give Jen her first breast feed and start bonding with her.  After being shown  a few times how to hold the baby correctly we had a very good start to our BF journey.  When Jen was about 6 weeks old I was hospitalised again as the bleeding hadn't stopped and I was getting septic from the placenta.  We were admitted to Chelsea Bush nursing Hospital which was a cute little country type hospital.  I was allowed to have Jen room in with me whilst there as I was breast feeding her and the staff there were very helpful.

                          Jen being breast fed whilst on a picnic at Colac Lake

Its surprising how  families can have such different views on breast feeding.  When we went to visit my husbands family whilst breast feeding Jen who was demand fed, I had to either leave the room which they preferred or sit with my back turned to the family.  My family were totally different as they didn't feel uncomfortable about me feeding in front of them and thought it was a natural thing to do, which put me more at ease. 

I couldn't get Jen to take a dummy so instead she used me as a dummy I think. During the night I was up every half hour feeding her which was alright in summer but mighty cold in winter.  Our breast feeding journey continued successfully until Jen started biting and drew blood which made me sooo sore.  After that I found I could relax enough as I was expecting her to bite all the time.  Anyway I feel that I gave Jen a good start to life with 18 months BF and she WAS the healthiest out of all my children.

Our third baby Cindy was born February 1986 and things had changed with peoples views on breast feeding by that stage. Even though I had an old fuddy duddy doctor I was allowed to breast feed on the delivery table as soon as Cindy was born.  She wasn't whisked away until we had a decent time to bond together which was really lovely.  Also I was allowed to have Cindy room in with me during the day but had to put her back in the nursery at night.  We had a very successful breast feeding journey but I cut it short when Cindy started teething as I remembered the pain of being bitten by Jen. So I weaned Cindy when she was 6 months old.

Cindy being breast fed on the delivery bed.

When shopping if either of the girls needed a feed I would have to find a change room or go back to the car.  Nobody fed their baby in public like today.  This disrupted and added extra time to our shopping trips.

Today observing both my daughters and my daughter in law breast feeding their babies things seem to be much more relaxed.  It is more accepted and natural to breast feed a baby whilst in public without having to find a change room and hide away.  It should be accepted by the general public as the baby has to eat too and why hide away, its nothing to be ashamed of.