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To breastfeed one’s child is the most natural thing that a mother does. But it is not unnatural to be unable to breastfeed a child either! Although a rare occurrence, there are instances where mothers just can’t make milk or when a baby just won’t take a feed.
I have heard of women who were roomed-in with their babies soon after birth. Despite the skin-to-skin contact, either the baby won’t suckle, or the colostrum just won’t flow through. It can be one of the most painful moments for a mom who has already endured enough suffering for the sake of happiness of a lifetime. She is soon swarmed by the nurses or midwives who would squeeze her breasts like they don’t want to quit until the milk finally comes out (or refuses to come out!). But breastfeeding won’t happen. Or there would be times when the baby just doesn’t know how to suckle, let alone get the nipple into his mouth. There would be hue and cry, a tirade of events that make the mother break down for not being able to breastfeed her child.
When a woman gives birth, she takes it for granted that she would breastfeed the baby. With breastfeeding awareness more on the rise now, she knows that breastmilk is the best. But she would be taken aback by an event such as this where she cannot provide for her child. It would bother her. Her child would be fussy and unhappy. She would try and try every hour until she calls it quits.
What’s to follow is the social stigma attached to not being able to nurse one’s child. Every time someone known to you asks if your child is on exclusive breastfeeding, it feels like rubbing on the wounds. Afraid that they would ridicule your inability to nurse as a lack of womanhood, you give a vague affirmative. It can leave quite a deep mental scar. But before you end up at a consultation session with a psychologist, you will need to introspect:
- Whether you tried your best to breastfeed your baby
- Whether you turned to a lactation consultant, your midwife, nurse, doctor, or pediatrician for help
- Whether you tried employing all the available resources to overcome the inability to lactate or get your baby to take your feed
If the answer is yes to these questions, then there is nothing that should make you feel guilty. Know that you are not alone to go through the situation. Here’s what you need to accept and get over the problem:
Conditions That Prevent The Mother From Breastfeeding Her Child
1. There are very few problems that can prevent a mother from breastfeeding her child. It is usually medical conditions such as insufficient glandular tissue, breast reduction, hypoplastic breast syndrome, breast cancer, galactosemia, thyroid or pituitary imbalances or extensive breast surgery that can lead to the inability of producing milk.
Only about one in a thousand women who are born without an adequate glandular tissue in their breasts fail to produce full milk. Usually, one breast looks very different from the other. Mothers might also complain of never experiencing normal breast enlargement during pregnancy. While these mothers could still breastfeed, they might also need to feed their baby with supplements through a feeding tube or a bottle.
2. Some mothers have medical problems such as HTLV-1, AIDS, cancer, or they have indulged in the use of illegal drugs, which prevent them from nursing their child.
3. At times women who are diagnosed with breast lumps might have to undergo non-invasive tests such as through MRI, CAT scanning, X-Rays, or Ultrasound, which might damage the breast tissue and adversely impact a woman’s ability to produce milk. If only one breast is irradiated, the mother can continue nursing with the other.
4. Temporary weaning might occur due to certain medical conditions which might decrease the milk supply as well. Some of these conditions are hypothyroidism, untreated tuberculosis, active herpes lesions, hepatitis B and C, surgery, pituitary dysfunction, postpartum bleeding.
5. Breast augmentation does not interfere with milk ducts, so it does not affect lactation. However, breast reduction usually involves severing the milk ducts which makes lactation impossible. Other less invasive techniques might allow partial breastfeeding.
7. Conditions that don’t need interrupt breastfeeding are diabetes, anemia, pituitary tumors, cystic fibrosis, asthma, hyperthyroidism, postpartum depression, arthritis, multiple sclerosis, heart disease, hypertension, and hepatitis A.
8. If the woman has had a heart surgery, she might have to discuss the possibilities breastfeeding with her doctor.
Conditions In Babies That Might Prevent Feeding
9. Cleft palate, oral or facial defects, premature birth, congenital conditions such as Down Syndrome, cardiac problems, or other neurological disorders, jaundice, reflux, celiac disease, heart diseases, cystic fibrosis, hypoglycemia, hydrocephalus, allergies, can prevent the baby from taking mother’s feed.
10. Despite these conditions, the mother can pump out her milk and feed as these babies might need more immunological benefits of breastmilk than the healthy infants.
11. The only medical condition that precludes breastfeeding completely is galactosemia, which is a hereditary metabolic disorder occurring once every 60,000 births. The condition demands immediate weaning because the liver enzymes cannot metabolize lactose.
12. Very rarely a few babies might be born with a lack of any lactase, an enzyme that breaks down lactose. Such babies will need to be fed with lactose-free formula.
13. Babies with PKU or phenylketonuria, whereby the baby has an inability to break down amino acid phenylalanine, can still be breastfed, unlike earlier myth that they shouldn’t be breastfed. Mother’s milk contains phenylalanine, but in low quantities that is essential for normal growth. Mother’s milk has a lesser amount of amino acid when compared to formula milk, so she can continue to breastfeed while putting her baby on low-phenylalanine formula milk.
Nursing may not be a luxury that every woman can afford, and this does not make her an outcast. In the words of Jan Barger, an international board certified lactation consultant, “Good parenting is more than breastfeeding.” As long as you are caring for your child and doing your best for him or her, you have no reason to be through mommy guilt.
