This video is about when breastfeeding doesn’t work out. Deciding to stop breastfeeding and startbottle-feeding can be difficult, and it’s important for you to feel supported. We hear from mums who got support from mothers groups and counsellors as well as from friends and family. A child and family health nurse and counsellor talks about getting support and gives tips for bonding with baby while bottle-feeding.
Yasna Blandin de Chalain: When breastfeeding doesn’t work it's really important for health professionals, family and everyone around the mother is playing a very supportive and understanding role respectful of the decision to feed her baby in the way that actually works the best for that family.
Some of the emotions that women may feel when there is a need for them to give up breastfeeding are things like guilt. They may feel judged, they may feel that there might be a lack of support for their decision to then formula feed.
With bottle-feeding it's important to get as much support as possible. So we know that can be achieved obviously through your health professional initially but later on perhaps through online communities where parents can get online and get support from other parents who have been through similar experiences.
Perhaps new parent groups where mums and dads are both invited to attend where they get to meet other parents who are in the same boat as they are in terms of the parenting experience.
Feeling supported can mean different things for different people. It would be feeling understood. It would be about feeling respected for the decision that you've made. It would be about being empowered about the decision that you’ve made also.
That relief now comes in the form of being able to spend a lot of their time and energy that they’ve previously been spending on trying to make breastfeeding work into making their bottle-feeding experience a positive one.
Some of the tips for bonding with your baby when you're bottle feeding and that is whether you have perhaps breast milk in the bottle or you might be feeding your baby with formula are to give your baby as much eye contact as possible.
Creating those lovely warm connections is very, very important. So along with eye contact you might also choose to perhaps talk to your baby at that time, you might choose to read, you might choose to sing to your baby but making that a very, very special time between you and your baby is very, very important. And you can do that very well whilst bottlefeeding your baby.
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