• Breastfeeding
  • Why breastfeeding is important
  • Finding support and information
    • Breastfeeding advice videos
    • Share your story
  • Learning to breastfeed
  • Common breastfeeding challenges
  • Breastfeeding in public
  • Pumping and milk storage
  • Going back to work
  • Breastfeeding and everyday life
  • Government in action on breastfeeding
• Breastfeeding in Spanish (en español)

Hey, I'm Cortney. I'm 22 and a mother of a 6 month old son named Vincent. I have breastfed since day one and it was always easy for me. He latched immediately and I was very lucky. Starting about 2 weeks ago, when he turned 6 months old I started mixing half breastmilk with formula because he is VERY dependent on me for his nighttime routine. Giving him a bottle all the time, still with breastmilk in them has improved his independence and been better for my family!

Yes, I have overcome so I could keep breastfeeding. It is hard for me being a woman and mother. I struggle and encounter many problems but all of the trials have never lingered; I never quit. I have a determination and inspiration that's my baby. Until now my baby is my only reason to live in this beautiful world.

I am a mother of 3 and my first 2 I was not able to breastfeed. But with my 3rd son who was born via c-section and the economy being bad I decided that I would not give up and I was determined to breastfeed before my son was born. When he was born I told the nurses not to give him a bottle and as soon as I was able to see my son after a 45 minute wait in the recovering room the first thing I did was put him to my breast and he began suckling and began feeding! I was so excited for our accomplishment plus I knew that I was doing something good for both my son and I. It was much easier to feed my baby and recover from my c-section without having to worry on having bottles or formula at hand. He is now 7 months and he is still breastfeeding wonderfully.

i had an unplaned c-section and my milk didnt come in until the 4 night of my son being born. he lost 10% of his weight so we had to use that thing with the fomula in so he could still have my boob.well i was so discouraged like i had to have c-section and milk wasnt coming so i felt like i was not a good mom couse i couldnt do anything on my own. luckly my milk came in and i couldnt be more happier love breast feeding. first it hurt but after a week i was fine. now i tell others how breatfeeding binifts not only your baby but even the mom.

I am 19 years old and breastfeeding my now 3 month old son. In the beginning, i absolutely HATED breastfeeding but i knew its the best thing you can do for your child. Its not easy at all seeing that i'm young and in college. Of course you always have the negative people in life who says "you better put that boy on a bottle" and those ones who've actually bought formula and although i have been tempted, those containers are still sealed. Having a good support system is the best thing anyone breastfeeding can have. Although my mom irritates me whenever baby cries she says he hungry, she is my best supportive person. I dont know many people who breastfeed so being able to see this website and read other people experience is really helpful.

Having baby D* was a blessing! How could I not love something so pure, so innocent, and so right? Babies are a blessing wheather we all know it or not. When baby D* was born I thought I was in heaven, couldn't wait for the many years of bonding to come; we had already had 9 months. The first time He was to be breastfed I was nervous, and the nurse was mean. We did not even get his mouth on the breast. I was a wreck! Nothing I did worked. He was Jaundis and Had already lost 8% of his body weight.. We hadn't even left the hospital yet! I couldnt stop crying, not to mention the fact that we had to supplement with formula. I hate formula. Not to know those who use it, because it was developed for a reason. I had the milk, I wanted him breastfed. Well we left the hospital and I was still crying randomly, thank you hormones! I told myself that weekend, "This baby needs you and your milk" My husband and I agreed we'd do everything in our will to get him to breastfeed. 2 months later and this kid is a chunk! Talk about loving the boob! lol. Good luck moms! You can do it!

Before I became a mother, breastfeeding was out of sight, out of mind. I really didn't have an opinion about it-good or bad.

I didn't choose to breastfeed. Breastfeeding chose me. If that makes any sense at all.

When I looked at my first born, Kiana, laid on my chest, something clicked..the nurses cleaned her off and right away I said, "When Can I Breastfeed Her?" , they said "right now" and she latched perfectly. Not everybody has a wonderful story like that but same with my son, Major, he latched perfectly and we are still BF strong and he is 10 months old.

One thing I did noticed while at the hospital when my DD Kiana was born, though, was she kept throwing up and the nurses told me that was normal to have a little reflux. I brought her home and she nursed great. But still would severely reflux. Spitting up out of her nose and choking on spit up. This went on for a few weeks when I made up in my mind it must be my breast milk and gave her some formula to see if she could handle it better. I was really confused thinking my milk was too thin. She wasn't gaining good weight and was really fussy. So at her first pediatric appointment at a month old her doctor suggested adding rice cereal to her formula to thicken it and told me she should hold her milk down better. So I went from nursing exclusively to nursing 50% of the time and the other 50% of the time giving her formula with rice cereal. Little did I know, that would be the beginning of the end of our breastfeeding relationship. She still had severe acid reflux so at her 2 month old checkup the doctor gave me a sample of Enfamil AR(formula specifically for babies with acid reflux) to see if that helps. By then, my supply had diminished, and soon after she was fed 100% of the time Enfamil AR. The acid reflux still did not stop. So on her 4 month old checkup the doctor put her on an acid reflux medicine (Zantac) and a combo of the medicine and Enfamil AR helped a lot. By the time she was 8 months old she had completely stopped spitting up and I started weaning her off the medicine. Looking back on the situation, if only I had the medical advice and support I needed, I would have nursed her well after 2 months. My son, Major, has acid reflux now, we are breastfeeding strong at 10 months old and he started the acid reflux medicine at 6 month old and is doing great. At 9 months old he was weaned fully off of the Zantac. We have no plans of stopping nursing anytime soon.

Hello my name is Felisha i am 25 years old and just had my first child, i had a girl and named her Nazariah (Nazra). i really wanted to breastfeed right from the start but everyone was telling me its hard and a lot of work, well now that i experienced it, yes it is, however i enjoy it because its a special bond with my daughter and its very health for her too. In the beginning it was very hard for her to latch on correctly, but i didn't give up.. i started to pump instead of putting her on and over working her to latch because she would get frustrated. so i worked on her paste. she would try and try and still nothing, so i continued to pump and i remember people saying don't pump you will not produce enough milk because the baby needs to latch in order for you to make more but my baby couldn't. i was getting really tired and frustrated with everyone telling me what to do so i decide not to listen to anyone and worked with her my own way. which was having her try every other day to latch on, first i would feed her a 1 ounce of pumped breast milk then have her try, this worked because she wasn't so frustrated and hungry. shew finally latched right one day when she was three weeks old then the following day again then by the third day she didn't want the bottle anymore,. she did great, i just want to let those mothers know not give up and take it on your own paste and to clear your mind and dont give in to the narrative, our bodies are made to do this and it will come naturally and remember its better and healthier for your child.

Hello my name is jennifer. i had my daughter miley on february 24th this year. when i first started breastfeeding i was so uncomfortable and thought it was painful at first. but after i kept trying and trying it. i finally realized breastfeeding her would be better for her then not. so i pushed and pushed myself. im so glad i did. i over came that uncomfortable and feeling weird about it. i love it and plan on feeding her breast milk til she is 1 years old. i love the mama and daughter time we get when im breastfeeding her. but because i over came it. i tell people who are pregnant to breastfeed their babies. its the best thing for the baby and the mama as well.

Im 23 years old and a mother of 3! i had my first daughter at 16 and had a hard time breastfeeding and i wasnt successful i regret it till this day that i didnt try my hardest. when i had my second son i didnt give up even as hard as it was at times and how much pain i was in 1-2 weeks later IT WAS perfect it felt amazing and the bond was incredible i breast fed him for 10months! now i have a 6 week old baby girl and breastfeeding is going awesome im ebf it was also hard at first with the pain that comes alone and the 3 days of cluster feeding but i seceded and im planning to breastfeed for 12months! ALL I CAN TELL OTHER WOMEN IS DONT GIVE UP AND DONT THINK YOUR NOT MAKING ENOUGH MILK BECAUSE YOU ARE BREASTFED BABIES FEED ON DEMAND AND ITS NORMAL :)