I am posting this because I need some support and advice ..
I am 18+ weeks pregnant and I'm worried about breastfeeding. As a child I was severely sexually abused by my father until the age of 14.
When I had my daughter 3 years ago, the hospital immediately forced me to try breastfeeding. It was extremely traumatic for me. I was immediately triggered and felt sick, uneasy and like I wanted to give the baby to someone and jump out a window. I am NOT able to disassociate my childhood abuse from healthy things such as breastfeeding. I am already prone to PP depression and I do not want to add constant triggering on top of that.
With this second baby, I would like to express milk and give it to the baby that way. I think that I will be able to handle pumping without a significant issue, however I am not sure.
I know this is a very personal question, so I understand if I don't get any answers...but has anyone else experienced this? If so, how did you deal with it ?
I would also love any advice, tips, tricks, etc on expressing/storing breast milk.
Thanks in advance.
I have actually attended counseling and therapy on and off throughout my late teens and 20's. I have become almost 100% accepting of the situation, and I have learn ways to cope with almost anything in terms of triggering. I had my 1st child at 22 and the trigger of nursing was literally a totally unexpected blow. Until I had to ACTUALLY do it...I was entirely into it. It was a HUGE suprise that I was triggered by it. I am a very crunchy granola person and for me the thought of nursing WAS a greatly comforting thought. I wanted nothing more than to avoid using formula, I wanted to give my baby the best nutrition possible...but when it came to it, i just couldn;t.
get a medela pump, 100% lanolin (2 keep nipples from becoming raw from pumpin), make sure you have the right size shields on because they will make your nipples sore and raw if they are not the right size. as 4 the abuse have you tried gettin on an anti-anxiety medication to help ease the triggers? if you can find somethhing to lessen the impact of the triggers you should be able 2 nurse or pump.
Yeah, I have been on a few different medicines, but NONE of them are approved for nursing or during pregnancy :)
A lot of doctors/pharmacists do NOT have the correct information on which meds are safe. They err on he side of caution and just say no. Most meds are actually safe. Check lactmed(website or free app) or call Dr. Thomas Hale's hotline. He is the leading dr in the affects of meds with breastfeeding. He wrote the book Medications and Mother's Milk(you can rent/buy he book if you wanted). He's the go-to guy. :)
(806)-352-2519 is the phone number.
Good luck!!
Quoting Maleka87:Yeah, I have been on a few different medicines, but NONE of them are approved for nursing or during pregnancy :)
Pumping sounds like a great middle ground. It will be alot of work (every 2-3hrs around the clock) . Get a good pump.
Try to be open about bf. I would explain to your staff while in the hospital that it's important that they not pressure you about bf.
Maybe when no one is around you can try and do things at your pace without pressure. Start with skin to skin with a bra on then without a bra and possibly allow baby to latch. If you can tolerate it try to build up the time you bf.
We will be here to help and support you with whatever path you need to take to get your baby your milk. There is a post in the resources sticky regarding exclusive pumping. It was written by a mom who pumped for over a year and had milk for her baby for more months after she stopped pumping.
Quoting MaryJarrett:
Where did you check to make sure?
A lot of doctors/pharmacists do NOT have the correct information on which meds are safe. They err on he side of caution and just say no. Most meds are actually safe. Check lactmed(website or free app) or call Dr. Thomas Hale's hotline. He is the leading dr in the affects of meds with breastfeeding. He wrote the book Medications and Mother's Milk(you can rent/buy he book if you wanted). He's the go-to guy. :)
(806)-352-2519 is the phone number.
Good luck!!
Quoting Maleka87:Yeah, I have been on a few different medicines, but NONE of them are approved for nursing or during pregnancy :)
What do you while nursing your lil one?
- Maleka87
on Jan. 17, 2013 at 4:16 PM