When you are pregnant, you never realize what you are going against. Though I do not mean to scare new mothers, breastfeeding can never be explained to us as we would experience it. I had a tough time with breastfeeding thanks to the less help that was around me, but I really wanted to document the top 5 breastfeeding myths that are floating around making us believe that is as easy as a pie.
Here we go –
Breastfeeding is EASY
I love this line. Just love it! I never in my wildest dreams imagined that it would be so damn tough. How does one hold the baby? How can it be comfortable for me? Should I invest in that boppy? Is lying down and feeding the best way? These are just a very few of the questions that go on and on in your mind, and their is no one to assist with them. Sure, you have your parents or in-laws, but it has been a long time that your mom was pregnant. Do you want to trust her vivid memory? I am a strong advocate of consulting a Lactation expert. Invest a few bucks, go to a session, and I guarantee it will be worth the penny.
More liquids means more milk
Unfortunately it ain’t true! Of course water intake that is sufficient as per your body type is a must, but just guzzling down gallons of water to produce more milk will do you more bad than good. Think what happens to your appetite? A good balanced diet and just enough amount of water can be one of the factors that aids in breast milk creation, but there is more to this than just that. So stop stressing and eat what you feel like rather than selecting things that supposedly “AID” in milk production.
Start Prepping your breasts before the baby arrives
Our moms swear by it! My mother and others as well, were after my life to get started with the breast prepping sessions. Pinch the nipple and get it out, use your palms and elongate the breast, massage them often, and what not! But, the reality is that no matter how much prepping you are working on, when the baby arrives you just know what to do. The body already starts the prepping and manual intervention wont make the breastfeeding process easier.
Newborns feed every two to three hours
So not true! My daughter fed randomly during the first 3 months. No matter how many diaries I maintained to find a cycle of feeding times, no single day was the same. Sometimes she woke up 2 hours after a feed and sometimes 4 hours. On demand is the best way to follow at least till 4-5 months of the babies birth, after that she started getting into a pattern of feed-play-sleep, which stayed on even now at 2 years.
Fool proof birth control
I don’t have any personal experience to demonstrate how not true this statement is, but if research shows it and many moms I know have been through it, I would take that as a warning to not indulge in unsafe sex during breastfeeding. If you plan on getting pregnant so early, by all means go ahead and try this myth, but if not it is better to be safe than sorry. I personally cannot imagine having simultaneous and marathon breastfeeding sessions!
Moms can get a lot of flak and unwanted advice over breastfeeding all the time. But, from my experience the best way to learn is when you become a mom the first time. That experience will teach you and break every myth that is around.
Did you hear some crazy myths that you just refused to believe it during your breastfeeding days? Share them with us!
