
To breast feed or not to breast feed that is the question that crosses every womans mind when have their first child. I’m not for or against it but I’ve always had this notion that if it happens then it happens and if it doesnt then so be it. For many women this is a very sensitive topic and some will say yes do it all the way while others will say nah its not for me. Well, I was one of those that was in between. Yeah, sure I wanted to try it but it probably wasnt in my best interest to continue after the first year thanks to post partum.
While I am glad that I did it, however, a part of me knows that it isn’t in my best interest to do it again or at least for as long as I did it. I am fine with my second child, whenever we become pregnant, to have formula. We did supplement with my son until he started eating food. I really do think that pumping or breastfeeding, whatever you want to call it, really did play a huge part in my post partum depression. In fact I know it did because once I stopped I almost became like my old self again except with a kid of course! It was like a huge weight was lifted off my shoulders and I felt happier again. Of course I could feel my hormones shift but I felt happier and that I could really enjoy my son. Many women still get post partum without breast feeding but because of the hormone fluctuations I feel like it made mine worse. I strongly do encourage that if you do have post partum to talk to both your doctor and a therapist. I did and it sure did help me get the help that I did.
If covid didn’t happen then I would have stopped a lot earlier than when I planned to. However, since we were and still are in a pandemic, I decided to continue until my son turned a year old. I am all for the health benefits that it gives babies but for me it had a darker side that came in the form of post partum. Am I glad I did it? Yes I am glad because I stuck to my guns you could say when I had people tell me to literally give up. I’m glad I did it because I knew I was giving my son antibodies to fight covid after he got it from me. I’m also glad I did it because I really do believe it helps with protecting him from having allergies down the line. Overall, I’m glad I did do it.
So overall if someone were to ask to breastfeed or not to breastfeed I would say to look deep down inside yourself and ask why. If they still want to go through with it then i would say if in a few weeks you change your mind then you can stop. However, if you dont want to stop then hey more power to you!