Lara, mum to Ellie, 4 months, has a question about
breastfeeding – how long have other mums breastfed for?
“I always planned to breastfeed my baby for at least a year. I’ve planned my maternity leave and just about everything else around that assumption, but now I’m not so sure. I’m lucky in that the breastfeeding has been pretty easy and Ellie is a great little feeder but I’m just longing to have my body back. It feels like someone has been inhabiting it or feeding off it for over a year now and I would so love a break and to be able to stop having to restrict what I eat and drink.
I feel really guilty for feeling this way – I know that my breastmilk is the best possible thing for my baby but I’m also just exhausted. The thought of sleeping all night and letting someone else get up to her for a change is just heaven. I’ve tried expressing but I don’t seem to be able to get anything out that way. Has anyone else stopped breastfeeding earlier than they planned and what was the reason? I feel bad even considering it – everyone else I know is so pro breastfeeding and seems to love it, but I just want to stop.”
After responding to our survey, our members reveal that out of the 90% of mums who had planned to breastfeed almost 50% stopped before they had originally intended.
Lara is not alone in finding breastfeeding exhausting and draining – other mums in our survey also stated that they were too tired or found it difficult to balance the demands of breastfeeding with that of their other children.
Around 50% of mums stopped breastfeeding before their baby was 3 months old. For many this was what they had planned but others stopped for reasons such as low supply, unsettled baby and feeding problems including mastitis and cracked nipples. A few mums cited lack of support as the reason they were unable to breastfeed as long as they would have liked.
Some other mums share their stories here:
“My son was a big baby and he was just so hungry, feeding all the time, also having my older son I didn’t have time to sit for hours on end feeding my baby!” – Sophie, Wales (breastfed for 2 weeks)
“I breastfed for as long as I could cope with, as I found the lack of sleep and constant feeding too difficult,” – Julie, Cornwall (breastfed for 12 weeks)
“I didn’t really have a set plan for how long I wanted to breastfeed – was happy just to take it as it came. If anything I’d say I aimed for about 6 months and that’s how long I ended up breastfeeding,” – Kirsteen, Scotland (breastfed for 6 months)
It seems that deciding how long to breastfeed for is a very personal decision and one that depends vastly on your individual circumstances.