Born to Breastfeed

Why Birth Matters to the Nursing Relationship

By Teri Brown

Those moms who decide to breastfeed their children do so out of love, concern and their family's situation and needs. Most go into breastfeeding confidently; after all, it's natural, isn't it? What many women don't understand is that the actual birth may have a huge impact on breastfeeding success.

Heather Hill of DeWitt, Mich., believes the problems she had with delivery may have been the reason for her breastfeeding failure. Her son, Sean, was a large baby, and for many reasons, she and her doctor decided to induce labor. After 12 hours her son was born via Cesarean section.

"The next morning, I started my attempts at breastfeeding, but he refused to latch on the whole three days we were in the hospital," says Hill. "When I got home, I kept trying, but it was no use. So I started giving him formula because he was so hungry."

Hill was devastated about her lack of success and plans to do things differently for her next child. She isn't sure what happened with Sean but feels that something during the birth may have had an effect on her ability to breastfeed successfully.

"I think something that happened during the birthing process may have caused my lack of breast milk or his inability to latch on," says Hill. "I don't know whether it was the induction, the epidural or the C-section ... it just didn't make any sense."

So does the manner of birth a mother and child experience affect breastfeeding success? Opinions vary. Dr. Kenneth Johnson, assistant professor of obstetrics and gynecology at Nova Southeastern University, doesn't believe so. "The easier birth does not lend itself to a more successful

Want to see more?

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• Straight Talk About Real Babies: Defining New-mom Expectations
• Your Breast Friend: The International Board Certified Lactation Consultant
• Talk about it!