Women that breastfeed???

I am going to be a 1st time mom in July and wondered if I really have to take a breastfeeding class or will it be enough to just read up on it?

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I would take a class. They are usually lead by lacatation consultants so if you do need help, they will be available for you.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I would HIGHLY recommend it! I have been successfully BF (and now pumping/BF since I am back to work) for almost 5 months. I would say it is mostly because I took a class. I never had problems with him latching on or any other issues. Not that I am the expert or anything, I just knew what to look for, KNIM?

Re: Women that breastfeed???

DEFINITELY take a class. Even when it comes naturally, breastfeeding is HARD, and success usually comes when you know what to expect and are prepared. I took a class at my hospital with the lactation consultant which made for an easy transition when I gave birth because the same lactation consultant came to my hospital room to help me out.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

definitely take a class, they are excellent resources.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I agree. It was very informative. And when you get frustrated - and you will...just keep in mind we mean it when we say it WILL get better after 3 weeks. It is very frustrating and time consuming in the beginning and painful as well but it gets SO much easier. If I didn't have a very painful root canal I'd still be doing it full force, not just partially. And at the hospital I was having problems and I kept asking for a lactation consultant and they kept sending nurses who were helpful but not enough for me and the last day before I went home I demanded a LC and finally got one and she really helped me.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I'd take the class but I'd also caution you that it's something you learn as you go so you may also need professional help after the baby when you actually have a reference point for all the advice they provide. It's a little difficult to process or retain it when there is no baby yet.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didnt take a class and we did great, but I attribute that to the lacation speacilist at the hospital. She was really wonderful and I called her in several times to help me.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didn't take a class or have a lactation consultant, but I did read a few books. And it came easily to Ella, so we had no problems.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

Def take a class and line up a lactation consultant for after birth for help and questions. Without my LC i wouldn't have made it past 2 weeks bf'ing.

I also bought the nursing mother's companion book.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didn't take a class, but read a fair bit before hand and all is well. I also had some nice help at the hospital too.

The hospital i had DD at (NS Plainview) has a free breastfeeding support group, which is really a nice group of mommies with free access to a LC, and she supplies some juice/milk/Lorna Doones for us. I highly recommend it if anyone delivers there - it was a great thing to get out of the house to do and a great resource when I was getting frustrated!

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didn't take a class but my sister was breastfeeding central. She helped me out tremendously. She had a lactation consultant & was able to pass on a lot of the information.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I had a bad experience at my BF class. I found books more helpful. One book in particluar was really great. It was by Karen Pryor and called Nursing Your Baby. Also, Breastfeeding for Dummies.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didn't take a class or even read up that much - I never thought of it! (was reading so much about parenting and birth....but duhhh!) and its worked out fine!

Re: Women that breastfeed???

Honestly, I took a class and it was the biggest WASTE OF TIME! But I think that was based on the instructor who spent 1/2 hours of a 1 hour class telling us WHY we should BF and only 30 minutes on HOW TO BF.

The only thing I really took away from it was to try BF adn not give up for 3 weeks. Its amazing how much easier things get at the 3 week mark.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didn't take a class and had an easy time. I leafed through quickly The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding (highly recommend). But a class couldn't hurt.

Re: Women that breastfeed???

I didnt take a class, but I read a bunch of books and BF forums beforehand. We successfully BF for 2+ years and I pumped for 12 months. Good Luck!