Don’t put pressure on yourself

Alisha's story

My advice to anyone thinking about breastfeeding is to not put pressure on yourself. It is easier the more you relax and take time to enjoy it. I wish I’d reached out for support with my first as I would have learnt so much more.

I knew I wanted to breastfeed ideally but I was prepared to bottle-feed as I never wanted to put pressure on myself or stress myself out after giving birth. I prepared for both scenarios but my preferred option was to breastfeed. I was super lucky and had no issues breastfeeding either of my children, but both experiences were different.

I really had no idea what I was doing with my first child but we managed breastfeeding really well. She was exclusively breastfed until she weaned herself at two, when I was pregnant with her brother.

My son was very unwell when he was born so I managed to give him his first feed but he was then whisked off to intensive care and then SCBU.

He responded really well and only had to be tube fed for a short time. I tried to hand pump for that to be given to him but I just couldn’t do it. So they allowed me to feed him myself and were shocked at how quickly he latched. We have fed through many hospital trips including one to Alder Hey, where I’ve been so grateful that he would feed because he wouldn’t have anything else. So although I’ve had easy journeys they’ve both been quite different, I also donated my milk to a milk bank for two years, and have privately donated milk to many other babies local to me for years too.