Although research has shown that only 15 percent percent of women are physically unable to produce enough breast milk for their babies, about 40 percent of more than 1,000 moms asked in a Parenting.com survey, in conjunction with HLN's "Raising America", said they weren't making enough milk and totally gave up breastfeeding.
Are these mothers taking the easy way out, or is it more of an issue of perception versus reality?
"If 40 percent of mothers are finding [breastfeeding] is not working for them, then we have a big problem," said Alison Stuebe, M.D., assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology in the Division of Maternal-Fetal Medicine at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine. It's a problem she says that needs "systematic studies of strategies" to fix.
Many moms fear that they are not producing enough milk, discouraged when they find that their babies are still hungry even after hours of pumping and feeding. To make matters worse, breastfeeding can be painful for mothers.
Dr. Steube expressed her concerns about the issue of pointing fingers at and blaming mothers, as she believes "the overwhelming majority of mothers want to do what's best for their babies" and are not in fact taking the easy way out by substituting their own milk with formula.
"If she's having problems, then it's her doctor's job to help her find a solution," Dr. Stuebe said. "What we don't need is finger-pointing that blames individual mothers and tells them this is all in their heads."
A 2001 report by Dr. Marianne Neifert backed up her statements: "A health-care professional would never tell a diabetic woman that 'every pancreas can make insulin' or insist to a devastated infertility patient that 'every woman can get pregnant.' The fact is that lactation, like all physiologic functions, sometimes fails because of various medical causes."
Due to the widespread fear of low breast milk supplies, a company called Upsring has created "a test called Milkscreen for moms to use at home to see if they're making enough for their babies."
The test was met with outrage from breastfeeding activists, who claimed there was no accurate way to test milk supplies and that the product would only add to mothers' insecurities about breastfeeding. The product was almost immediately pulled from shelves and suspended in production.
Have you ever had issues with breastfeeding or felt that your milk supply was too low? Do you think moms are taking the easy way out or not? Share in the comments below!
