The benefits of breastfeeding

Abigail Briggs is a midwife who has recently taken the plunge into the world of motherhood. Her blog Midwife To Mum is a unique insight into the life of a mum from both sides of the speculum, as she experiences the professional and practical sides of pregnancy, birth and life as a new mum. 

In her first blog posts, Abi takes a humorous approach to serious subject matter such as PND, body image and her battle with Hyperemesis Gravidarum.

Abi lives in Cambridgeshire with her husband, daughter and two attention-deficit cats. When not being midwife or mum she enjoys gin and shouting at young people. Tweet her @midwifetomum

My daughter was term but small at birth, just 5lb 3oz. She fed A LOT. She also had a posterior tongue tie which didn’t help matters and I suffered from painful nipples and recurrent blocked ducts from inefficient milk transfer. The early weeks weren’t quite the beautiful bonding experience I’d hoped for. Luckily I’m a stubborn cow and I wasn’t going to let it beat me.

Breastfeeding was too emotional, too beautiful and dare I say it, too bloody EASY for me to turn down. Although I wanted to throw myself out the window most evenings when the witching hours of 6-10pm arrived with all the cluster feeding fun that brought. I knew there was no other option but to keep going. I’d say to my husband “Just one more feed and then we’re switching to formula.” But I never did. She wasn’t going to have anything except breastmilk via boob.

People say breastfeeding gets easier. I kept resisting the urge to throttle them with the tubing from my breast pump but you know what, it really does and there’s actually some pretty cool advantages.

A cure-all answer to almost all of my daughters problems. In 8 months I can’t think of any malady she has suffered that sticking her on my boob hasn’t cured. Formula feed-ers, I salute you. You must be so creative. Teething? Pow! Overtired? Bam! That time she rolled off the sofa when I looked away for a nanosecond? Kazam! Even in bed at night when she wakes suddenly screaming for whatever reason, all I do is roll over and instant calm floods under the duvet. In fact if I didn’t feed-to-sleep, my daughter would probably have not slept since birth. And yes I’ve been told I’m making a rod for my own back but to be honest I like this rod, it helps me stand up straight on the days when I’m so knackered I think Sophie the Giraffe is squeaking me subliminal messages.

You get to sit on the sofa, watch TV and surf the internet. God knows what mums did before smartphones? It’s amazing what crap you can find to watch and buy off the TV at 3am. I’ve also done a lot of internet shopping, my daughter now has clothes going up to age 5.

You’ll get to buy a new wardrobe to contain your lovely new, heaving bosom. Primark stretchy vest tops for £2.50 which can be easily pulled down to feed but still hide your baby belt. Over the vests? Checked shirts, floaty chiffon blouses and oversized tees. Tell your husband they’re a household expense as technically they’re for the baby. Technically.

Cake is something else I’ve discovered in my hours of breastfeeding as in the quantity I can eat. As in an entire M&S coffee swiss roll in one day. Breastfeeding burns around 500 calories a day so I do feel somewhat justified in pigging out. Again technically it’s for the baby.

Breastfeeding also allows you to getting your own way. For example:
Husband: Christ, I’ve had such a lousy day at work, why are we watching TOWIE?
Me: B has breastfed for a total of 7 HOURS so far today.
Husband: OK

It can get you in to things eg La Leche League meetings as well as out of things eg “Can’t make the mortgage meeting at the bank darling I’m breastfeeding!”

I’m probably sounding very flippant about the whole experience but there’s also some other really special stuff. Like when she leaves a tiny, shell-like imprint of her ear on my forearm after a feed. Or when we just stare at each other for ages while she’s feeding. It’s been my greatest achievement, other than having her obviously.

If you’re finding breastfeeding hard please seek help. I had loads of fantastic people helping me. There are heaps of lovely trained professional people out there who would genuinely fall over themselves to help you with any problems you might be having. And then you can find lots of wonderful new breastfeeding benefits of your own. So long as some of them involve cake. And be sure to save me a piece.

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