Breastfeeding: the textbooks vs. the truth

There is plenty of information out there about the benefits of breastfeeding, but it's time for us to talk openly about the the reality of feeding our babies. Watch our vloggers share their stories about breastfeeding and bottle feeding their babies, as they show how the truth so often varies from what the textbooks tell us.

How did the pressure to breastfeed (#Bressure) make you feel when feeding your baby? Share your experiences below.

Channel Mum is the UK's first YouTube community for mums. We bring together the best of YouTube mum talent to reveal the honest face of parenting.

Channel Mum partners with talented creators and vloggers who make fresh, relevant and honest video content and help mums to find and grow their vlogging voice on YouTube.

[sairee]

We have so many choices in life and how we feed our baby is just another one. Nobody should feel any negativeness for whatever way they choose to feed their baby. We should stop having such a divide between breast and bottle feeders and should all just focus on ourselves rather than what other people are doing. We are all woman and mamas at the end of the day and all want the same thing...the best thing for our children! Well done on a great campaign Channel Mum.

[NatashaBailie]

I cried a lot in that first year because of my feeding drama and I did it all, I breastfed, I expressed and I formula fed. I just wish this campaign was around 2 years ago - it would of been nice to not feel like I was on my own and feel informed. These stories go to show that one size does not fit all. Everyone is having their own struggle and I love Charlotte saying "there is no way to be a perfect mum, but there are a million ways to be a good one". It may not of been around 2 years ago when I was struggling, but I am so thrilled to be a part of it so I can help other mothers going through it or about to embark on their feeding journey. This campaign is not pro breast or pro bottle, it is simply PRO MAMA and will empower women.

[jessikabeepbeep]

Such an amazing video. I still get teary 13 months after not being able to breast feed. I felt like a massive failure and put so much pressure on what I honestly though what 'right' and 'wrong'.

I had no intentions on bottle feeding, it never entered my mind before having my daughter. No midwives or doctors prepared me for what would happen if I couldn't breast feed. Which made me feel like an even bigger failure.

This video is amazing.

[SJ_Strum]

It's so crazy how those early experiences stay with you forever.  Watching all the stories makes me realise how there's no one experience of feeding that we all should aspire to, just take each feed as it comes and look out for other mums we know who may be putting on a brave face.  x

[samanthalambert]

I totally agree that women have a choice and that breastfeeding doesn't always work out for everyone but what saddens me a little about this campaign is that it's another way for the media to show breastfeeding in a negative light again. Women should be empowered to make their own choices be that breast or bottle and nobody should be made to feel guilty however they feed their baby. Breastfeeding is never portrayed positively in the media and whilst I can see the good intentions in this campaign, I don't feel that breastfeeding is being promoted in the best way. Why are so many women who want to breastfeed unable to do so and what can we do to help is the question that should be asked instead of adding fuel to an already sensitive subject.

[alicekelly]

I exclusively breast fed for 6 weeks until we figured out she was lactose intolerant. She failed to thrive and was in terrible pain with stomach cramps and diahorea. We had to stop then and there and she was a much happier healthier baby on formula. X

[rachelmcleod]

I have to kids a boy who is 8 and a daughter who is 2 and a half. I never breastfed my son I was young when I had him didn't even give it a go just put him straight onto the bottle but when I fell pregnant with my daughter I was determined to breastfeed her but I also felt guilty for not even trying with my son had to give up breastfeeding my daughter when she was about 4-6 weeks old as she got really bad reflux and was on different medicine for it. At the end of the day you have to do what is right for you and your baby there are going to be people who are going to have there say but just take it like a pinch of salt you are all great mums no matter what x

[stockportcounselling]

Really interesting. I persevered and I'm really pleased about that BUT... I did feel bressure

[michelleinreality]

Great video, it was hard for me after my double mastectomy to know that I couldn't even breastfeed AJ if I wanted to. There's loads of pressure on mums when there really shouldn't be xx

[AnnaLouChen]

Thank you so much for this video. It's really encouraging to hear those words from different moms.

[maggiealderson]

THANK YOU xxx I had a nightmare. No milk. Was made to feel like a failure and a bad person.

[hedgemist]

I love this video. The LaLeche league would hate it though. This sort of advice from other mothers is what they would consider some of the reasons that women 'give up' breastfeeding.

[MsPamelamela]

I developed PND shortly after making the decision to end breastfeeding. I know it was the right decision but the grief process was like a tidal wave of guilt, anxiety that I couldn't recover from. I'm so angry about the antenatal care that I received and the pressure or #bressure in the hospital to breastfeed.

I'm convinced that I developed PND because I had completely unrealistic expectations about breastfeeding thanks to the NCT and NHS. A few examples of the messages vs reality. All women can breastfeed = I couldn't. Breastfeeding is free = nursing clothes, breast pads, supplements, hospital grade breast pump, nipple cream and then the 500 additional calories a day. Breastfed babies have a superior bond = there is NO research to support this claim. I can go on and on!

[zinanoel]

The truth is, no one ever asked you to be the world's best mother because being a mother isn't about you, it's about your child. The recent and relatively rare public health campaigns are a response Western society's demonization of breastfeeding, not a critique of you. The lack of breast feeding in our world is actually a public health risk; our societies are suffering from higher and higher rates of obesity, diabetes and autoimmune disorders (in the US the latter will be the leading cause of death by 2025) and one of the main reasons in the decline in breastfeeding since the early 1900's. Since formula's introduction, women in the Western world have been inundated with cheap substitute for a singularly superior source of nourishment, largely so that they could keep working I am very sorry for anyone who wasn't properly informed of the difficulties and realities of child rearing, but less than 5% of babies worldwide cannot themselves latch onto a breast and less than 2% of women cannot breastfeed. I would encourage everyone who considers having a child to find a well-reviewed nurse-midwife to guide you through the process, rather than consult incomplete text you don't have the knowledge base to interpret wisely and/or get confirmation bias and/or pressure from mommy blogs.

Child rearing isn't about you, Mum. It's about your child, and giving your child the best possible chances for life. When you decided to add another life to this already overpopulated planet, it should not have been because YOU wanted a legacy or a culmination of your love or a living source of love; it should have been because you were committing yourself to creating an agentful, healthy and contributing human being. You are unable to breastfeed? Hire a wet nurse, or find a friend or relative, or using a breastmilk bank, or start a breastmilk bank. I don't want to be callous or add pressure to any mom, but there is a reason you would never find this kind of mother-coddling video before the dawn of chemically-laden, anti-body lacking, commercial brand formula or outside of the Western world, where women work AND breastfeed well into childhood, not just 6 months. It's simply not as good for your babies. If you didn't want to put another human's happiness and well-being before yours, you shouldn't have become a mother in the first place. But now you're here, do your part. No one asked you to become a mother, it's not a sport you can "win" or "be the best at, " and, really, for the millionth time, the best possible outcome of your child rearing process will not be about you: it will be how well the human being who once popped out of your vagina will fare at life.


If you need some basic guidance, here's an excellent medically-sourced detail of the history of breastfeeding:



<3, truly, from a infant development trained early childhood educator.

[_Justjigs_]

Take the word breast out of the equation. Feeding is-