Guest Post: The Importance of Support

My guest blogger today is Laura, whose comments on my post "Milk Paranoia" seemed so fitting, I wanted to highlight them.  They reinforce the importance of Step 10 of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. which involves referring mothers to breastfeeding support groups after hospital discharge. Without ongoing support, long-term breastfeeding is an elusive goal for many. --Nancy

I suspect most women don`t even realize what qualifies as having an oversupply to begin with. I didn`t realize I was in that category until just recently. Although I am quite blessed to have more milk than I need for my monster-sized 29 inch, 22 pound, 6-month-old baby, I often worry whether pumping and working will affect my supply at some point and I won`t be able to keep up. Never mind that I successfully nursed my oldest for 3.5 years without issues.

It`s hard not to find breastfeeding horror stories out there. All one has to do is read a breastfeeding forum to hear the tales of lost milk supply and madly switching to formula, which baby promptly refuses. For myself I wouldn`t dream of posting on these forums about my oversupply and ability to produce milk at the drop of a hat.

I guess the point is that whether I trust my body or not it`s quite easy to fall into the trap of worrying about supply. It`s not like I can just run to Walmart and pick up some breastmilk if I run out. Not only is breastfeeding about trusting one`s body, it`s also about having the right information and surrounding oneself with people that are confident in their breastfeeding ability. This can be difficult to do. The breastfeeding horror stories are everywhere and so is the misinformation.