Breastfeeding

Updated: Apr 20/10

By Diane Allen, Executive Director, Infertility Network

Based on my own, extremely positive experience with La Leche League (LLL), I really recommend women who are pregnant contact this wonderful organization if they have any interest in, or curiosity about, breastfeeding their baby (which has so many health, as well as emotional benefits, for both mother and baby).
• La Leche League Canada
• La Leche League International

LLL was started by a handful of women in the USA in the 1950s at a time when breastfeeding had almost become 'obsolete', replaced by 'modern' formula. They found comfort and support in each other, and out of that small group has grown an international organization, with chapters in most countries and major cities, which is now recognized by the World Health Organization as the world's foremost authority on breastfeeding. Their mandate is

"To help mothers worldwide to breastfeed through mother-to-mother support, encouragement, information, and education and to promote a better understanding of breastfeeding as an important element in the healthy development of the baby and mother."

LLL is not just for women who encounter problems. They are a wonderful source of information and support about all aspects of new baby care and parenting. There are groups all over major cities which meet monthly, so there is probably one in your community. Attending meetings will give you the opportunity to meet other new moms in your neighbourhood - something most women really appreciate when they find themselves suddenly at home all day with a small helpless infant for whom they are completely responsible, and cut off from all the social connections and support they had previously enjoyed in their jobs just by going to work each day.

The best thing is to start going to meetings while you are still pregnant. This way, you get the chance to meet people, establish contacts and get information, long before you actually need it. This works much better than waiting until you have the baby and really, perhaps even urgently, need the info and support. Believe me - I know whereof I speak - since I was one of those women who did NOT go to meetings until after my son was born and I encountered difficulties. Unfortunately, while our society provides a lot of focus on pregnancy and delivery, there is not a lot of preparation or education for what comes afterward, is a lot more challenging and lasts the rest of your life: parenting!

I remained actively involved in LLL for 6 years after my son was born, not because I was still breastfeeding all that time, but because I came to really like the people, felt at home in the organization and believed in its 'attachment style' parenting approach. I probably would have gone on to become a leader had I been able to have a second child. Many of the women I met in LLL are still close friends today (and my 'baby' is now 25!).

A few more things before I stop rambling on about LLL:
• Don't let anyone scare you off by suggesting LLL is a bunch of 'fanatics'. While each local group is a bit different (depending on the personality of its leader and members who attend on a regular basis, and it can take a while to discover the one that's right for you where you feel at home, I never found the leaders anything but warm, supportive and non-judgmental towards me as a mom, even when I didn't follow every LLL recommendation.
• If you run into serious breastfeeding difficulties, either in hospital or at home there are some additional resources:
- lactation consultants who will come to your home. (The relatively small cost will be more than offset by the cost of even 1 month of formula)
- Newman Breastfeeding Clinic & Institute.

If, for whatever reasons, you choose not to breastfeed, or you encounter too many difficulties to continue, remember that what really matters is that your baby is healthy and you are too, so don't feel bad about it in any way. Breastfeeding, while wonderful in its own right and obviously something I feel quite passionately about, is but one small thing in the life of a child and their mother. You will have the rest of your lifetime to be a parent.

If there is other information or help we can provide, please contact us.