New mothers have shared their traumatic experiences of breastfeeding, saying there is a lack of support in the postnatal period.<\/p>\n
One woman said she will not have another baby because her early feeding experiences have affected her so much.<\/p>\n
Another said she was made to feel like a \u00ab\u00a0milk-making machine\u00a0\u00bb and negative experiences around feeding affected her bond with her baby.<\/p>\n
Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust said it was working to ensure its advice and care was \u00ab\u00a0clear, consistent and compassionate\u00a0\u00bb. University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said it was reviewing its care in order to improve.<\/p>\n
Jess Nicholson from Brighton gave birth to her twin girls by caesarean in September 2025 at St Richard’s Hospital in Chichester.<\/p>\n
She said one of her babies went blue and almost suffocated when she tried to breastfeed her.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I remember thinking I’ve had these babies for five minutes and I’ve already almost killed one,\u00a0\u00bb said Jess.<\/p>\n
Jess said the ward was short-staffed, causing long waits when she rang the bell for assistance.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It would just be my husband and I and the girls trying to figure out how to keep these little babies alive without any support,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I know I won’t have another kid, because I don’t want to do that beginning bit again.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Vicki Rose had her baby in February at Tunbridge Wells Hospital at Pembury.<\/p>\n
She had an emergency caesarean after both she and her baby contracted an infection in labour.<\/p>\n
Her milk was delayed coming in and she was told to triple-feed her baby every three hours.<\/p>\n
Triple-feeding aims to increase production by breastfeeding the baby, followed by supplementing – usually by bottle – with expressed milk or formula, before pumping for 15 minutes.<\/p>\n
This meant Vicki was on a schedule to breastfeed then pump every three hours, including through the night.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0There was absolutely zero preparation for how tough triple-feeding was going to be,\u00a0\u00bb the new mother added.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I barely even had time to go to the toilet, let alone time to feed myself. It was just a horrible time.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Vicki said she feels robbed of the newborn period.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I couldn’t get out, which then further impacted my mental health because I was just stuck at home the whole day, clock watching,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
Despite her efforts, Vicki’s daughter struggled to gain weight and she felt like medical staff were insinuating she was \u00ab\u00a0not doing enough\u00a0\u00bb and \u00ab\u00a0starving\u00a0\u00bb her baby.<\/p>\n
She said staff should be better trained in how they speak to new mothers \u00ab\u00a0because one comment literally can send you into a downward spiral\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
Lucy and her husband Sean tried to educate themselves as best as possible about breastfeeding before having their baby, attending an antenatal course and an NHS virtual session on breastfeeding.<\/p>\n
Lucy said \u00ab\u00a0theory is one thing but the reality of actually breastfeeding while you’re sleep-deprived, while you’re going through the hormonal crash and everything like that is completely different\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
She experienced \u00ab\u00a0toe curling pain\u00a0\u00bb when she breastfed her baby in the first few weeks.<\/p>\n
Like Vicki, she was advised to triple-feed, which she said \u00ab\u00a0really negatively\u00a0\u00bb affected her mental health and her bond with her son.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0All I was doing was feeding him and then handing him off to Sean so that I could pump, so I didn’t get the really nice sort of post-feed blissful cuddles.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I was kind of just a milk-making machine.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Looking back, she said: \u00ab\u00a0At no time were we asked what our priorities were and what we actually wanted from feeding.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0I have a lot of challenging memories about the immediate newborn period… I’ve got a lot of anxiety about that time.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
All three mothers said they were given differing advice by different health professionals and did not feel fully involved in decisions about feeding.<\/p>\n
Vicki also felt re-traumatised every time she had to explain her feeding journey.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0It’s too many different people getting involved, because every single time you see a new person, you have to retell the entire story.<\/p>\n
The women also said prior to giving birth there is plenty of information explaining how important breastfeeding is but not enough about the potential difficulties.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0You feel like you’re making the wrong choice every time because nothing’s coming easy, as it was told to you,\u00a0\u00bb said Jess.<\/p>\n
Carla Mastroianni, an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) based in Brighton, said feeding advice should be more holistic.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We see this plan and no one is looking at the mother behind this plan […] if we asked we’d know that she’s not OK, she’s not coping, she’s drowning,\u00a0\u00bb said Mastroianni.<\/p>\n
She said resources are low and training around feeding is \u00ab\u00a0almost non-existent\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0In an ideal situation an infant feeding specialist should visit a woman twice a week for two to three weeks,\u00a0\u00bb Mastroianni said.<\/p>\n
Jo Haworth, chief nurse for Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust, said she was sorry to hear of Vicki’s experience.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We understand how difficult feeding challenges can be for new parents, particularly where additional support is needed,\u00a0\u00bb she said.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We are working with our teams so that the advice and care we provide is clear, consistent and compassionate for every parent.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n
Haworth said the trust has strengthened its support \u00ab\u00a0so parents feel listened to and confident in the decisions they make\u00a0\u00bb.<\/p>\n
She says the support includes help from community midwives, infant feeding cafes and help on wards from midwives, nursery nurses, volunteer peer supporters, the trust’s midwifery lead for infant feeding and a dedicated infant feeding support worker.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We will continue to focus on ensuring families receive the care they need in the postnatal period,\u00a0\u00bb Haworth added.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for University Hospitals Sussex NHS Foundation Trust said: \u00ab\u00a0We’re very sorry that Ms Nicholson felt unsupported during such an important time.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0We’re reviewing her care and are keen to work with her and other families to understand how we can continue improving their experience.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0All our maternity staff are trained every year in infant feeding, and we’ve recently strengthened our breastfeeding support with new guidelines, specialist input and improved training.<\/p>\n
\u00ab\u00a0Breastfeeding initiation at our trust is almost 90%, well above the national average, and we’re working towards Unicef Baby Friendly accreditation to keep improving care for families.\u00a0\u00bb<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
New mothers have shared their traumatic experiences of breastfeeding, saying there is a lack of support in the postnatal period. One woman said she will not have another baby because her early feeding experiences have affected her so much. Another said she was made to feel like a \u00ab\u00a0milk-making machine\u00a0\u00bb and negative experiences around feeding […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-10232","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-uncategorized"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10232","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10232"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10232\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10232"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10232"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/placedesnations.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10232"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}