There are many organizations to help women with breastfeeding their newborns. Whether they intend to or not, they can make women feel guilty that about the fact that they aren’t breastfeeding their children. The truth is you shouldn’t feel guilty. The decision not to breastfeed is a very personal decision that is between you, your doctor, and your infant. That means no matter what opinion others may have, they don’t know your personal situation. It can be difficult to deal with the criticisms on top of taking care of your newborn. But know this, your decision to not breastfeed is not a bad decision. It is a personal one.
Working and breastfeeding are very hard to juggle. Even if you have the most generous job when it comes to breastfeeding, you are still going to run into potential problems. There is the need to have privacy for pumping, the problem of storage, and dealing with potential leakage. It is an additional stress load on top of the stress from work, from lack of sleep, and from all the other stresses that life throws at you. It can simply be too much and too overwhelming.
Placing your infant in daycare might not be an option. Finding a decent daycare compatible with breastfeeding infants is very difficult. They have very special requirements to meet by the state license board. The number of Daycare facilities that provide this option are few and far between. It may simply not be practical to put your baby in a daycare center that is far away from your work and home locations.
Low milk production has a big impact on your ability to breastfeed. It is nothing to be ashamed of. There could many reasons for why your body isn’t producing that much milk. Stress is certainly one of the contributing factors for low milk production. Your priority is ensuring that your infant gets what they need. Such discussions are best left between you and your doctor even if someone else thinks differently.
Having more than one child does put a strain on your milk producing capacity. While you may be able to produce enough for one child, producing for two or more is an impossible challenge. You would have to be superwoman to produce that much milk. Most people understand this but there are always a few.
Breastfeeding is not a reflection of your parenting skills. It is a very personal decision. You don’t need to feel guilty for choosing the best thing that works for you and your baby.